Path of The Wagtail
by GOJIRASMASH
Summary: Fight to the pseudo death? Check. Partnering with beings exponentially stronger than the strongest human unless said human uses magic? Check. Said partners being women who don't know the meaning of the term "Back Pain"? Double Check. If Shirou didn't know any better, he would think he just walked into another variation of the Holy Grail War... AU; OOC Shirou. Read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei or Fate/stay Night. If I did, than they would both be 50 times more awesome, making Sekirei barely above average while Fate/stay Night would blow up the planet from pure awesomeness!**

**Author's Note: While I plan on having these after the chapter, I'll make an exception in this to point something out. Yes, I am aware of how the ranking system for the Servants work. I'll admit to not knowing when I first wrote the sentence (first sentence of the chapter, can't miss it), but I had looked it up just in case. I decided to keep the mistake in due to the irony of the statement.**

**I only bring this up because I have heard (second hand, admittedly) that Fate/stay Night fans are quite persnickety, and I'd rather not have them clambering on my backs for making such a dumb mistake.**

**By comparison, I could probably make mistakes about Sekirei left and right, and nobody would give a shit.**

**Update: since a number of reviewers pointed this out after a single day (I feel special!), I have to make note of this: this is AU, as such, expect Shirou to act OOC. If that doesn't sound like something for you, than stop here. You have been warned.**

**Update: made a few minor corrections to the story, along with cutting out the part where Medusa kisses Shirou's hand, on suggestion by one of my reviewers (whose... profile name, I think?... will go unsaid in case he wants his privacy). He believed that the act was out of character for Medusa, and upon further reflection, I realized he was right, so I decided to change it. Pity, I rather liked the phrase "Weapon Grade Eroticism".**

**Anyway, let's get it on.**

* * *

**Chapter One: Shirou, Some Dude You Have Never Even Met or Heard of is...Your Father**

Shirou is finally convinced: despite how divergent his life is from Archer's life, he must have still contracted his damned E rated Luck. How else can he explain waiting in line at the airport for one and a half hours? How else can he explain the dreaded machine having chosen him to malfunction on? And how else can he explain after waiting two hours for the technician to show up, he learns that the machine has found a new way to malfunction just for him, forcing him to wait for another four hours and counting?

Shirou almost wishes that another Holy Grail War would begin so he could summon Archer and kick him in the testicles so hard that even Gaia would wince in sympathy. That'll teach the bastard what happens when you curse him with bad luck. While he's at it, he might as well win the Holy Grail, use it to create an anthropomorphic version of the dreaded machine and kick that thing in the testicles, too.

Admittedly, his day still wasn't really that pleasant even before the current airport fiasco, but he's willing to let the guy who talked to him the entire flight off the hook after he admitted the constant chatter was a coping mechanism. That flight was apparently the first time the man had ever been on a plane, and he was nervous. Shirou can understand that. After all, the first time he was on a plane, he was so convinced they were going to crash that he had devised a way of flying on the spot in case he needed to jump off the plane. Shirou even tested the spell later.

He's pretty sure the raccoon still hasn't come down.

Besides, Shirou always loved the feeling of helping others, even if it was by simply lending his ear to help a man cope (well, sort of. He did fall asleep for about two hours, but he doesn't think the man noticed). It's why he does what he does.

It's also why Shirou is rather pissed that this six hour delay has prevented him from doing what he loved: helping people. Who knows what could have happened during the time he has been held up here. People might become crippled or even killed just because he is not there to help them. Not there to save them.

But instead of being where he should be, Shirou is stuck in this soundproofed room with himself, his thoughts, some newspapers, and a pornographic magazine that the technician must have sneaked in because he doesn't remember it being there when he first came into the room. He can only assume the technician knew how long he would probably be waiting and took pity on him, but honestly he hasn't even glanced through it. After having the privilege of seeing a goddess in the flesh and in the buff, he can't help but think that most women are found wanting. If he ever wanted to do… that, he has plenty of memories to choose from.

Not that Shirou would ever use his memories of her in such a profane manner. To reduce her to nothing more than a sex symbol is downright sacrilegious in his mind, and worthy of the worst punishments he could think of. All he has left of her is his memories, after all.

And that is all he shall ever have of her. Even if he were to reach the Throne of Heroes and meet her again, the woman up there would not be his Medu-chan. His Medu-chan ceased to be the moment the Holy Grail was destroyed, never to return again.

_Damn, this is why I hate being alone with my thoughts. _He has to change the subject, quick! Think of swords! Yeah, that's right, a sharp, erect sword thrusted into soft, compliant flesh, eliciting a breathy moan of pleasure from Med… _Damn it! Stop thinking about swords! Abort! Abort! _ Think about… lances, that's right, lances. The feel of the weight in his hands, of the tactile sensation of the shaft as he thru… _Shit, that's even worse! What the hell is wrong with me?_

Shirou briefly wondered what Freud would think about his predilection with thrusting before chuckling to himself; pent up sexual frustrations, if he had to guess. Admittedly, he hasn't been with a woman in that capacity since… since…

His thought process came to a screeching halt when he was suddenly ravaged by a powerful scent. Well, two scents, actually. For a moment, he was confused at how such a repugnant odor could have crept up on him without him knowing until now. Than it hit him like a sledgehammer: these aren't real scents at all, but rather someone (or worse, something) is triggering his magical senses.

All magi have at least a small amount of sensitivity to magic, allowing them to detect when a spell has been used. Each magus, however, perceives this in different ways and with different degrees of sensitivity. Some sense it through sound, others through tactile sensations on their skin, still others through taste. Some magi need to literally be right next to the source of the magic, while others can sense it from over a mile away. Shirou, specifically, senses magic through smell, and his range is quite large (to the point that a certain Irish woman has compared him to a bloodhound), though he doesn't know the exact range of his sense.

The first odor reminds him of honey, but a bit more overpowering. Like someone had allowed honey to decay in the hot sun before deciding to put it next to honey that was kept inside and refrigerated. What exactly this is supposed to signify about the source of the odor he doesn't know, and quite frankly he hardly cares.

What is of greater importance is the second odor that accompanied the first. The second that is much easier to identify, for it is a scent that he had grown accustomed to during the weeks of the Holy Grail War on both a literal and magical level: blood. It is a scent that he has always attributed to one woman.

_Medusa._

* * *

This is not how I expected this night to go_, cursed Shirou, deflecting the killing blow of a sword with his bow, before following it up by smashing his elbow into the face of the magus, sending him stumbling back and giving Shirou some breathing room. This was just in time for him to hear the tail end of an incantation, that which was done by a woman. Shirou leapt back, barely dodging the huge fireball that would have burnt him crispier than he was after the fire. He traced an arrow, and fired it at the female magus, aiming for her heart. A wall of flame reduced it to ash before it got within a meter of her. He was not able to trace another arrow, and was instead forced to roll to the right when four pillars made of what he can only assume is the asphalt rose up from the street and smashed into each other like the mandibles of some strange creature made of the earth, spraying chunks of what is now confirmed to be asphalt everywhere, forcing Shirou to raise his arm as he is pelted by the chunks._

_ Three magi, two of which who use earth and fire related magic and the third who seems to only use physically enhancing magic. The three of them are highly trained, and fight quite well with each other, suggesting a level of familiarity between them. These magi fight together as a team, and have fought together often._

_ At first Shirou had thought that they were Enforcers, sent to deal with him due to that stunt he pulled last week that ended up on the six o'clock news. While the magic he used on camera was subtle enough that it would be nearly impossible for non-magi to even think that magic was involved, most practitioners of the art would have been able to discern the truth, and the Enforcers might have decided to nip this problem in the bud before it became an even larger nuisance._

_ Shirou had quickly dismissed that idea, however, due to the simple fact that they attacked him in public. At his school, to be specific, where he stayed late to fix some of the air conditioners. Ayako is probably going to give him an earful for that tomorrow, but he always thought her to be a bit too overprotective of him._

_ Than again, the day he decided to stay at school late is the day that three magi out for his blood decide to attack, so she might actually be on to something. Not that Shirou will ever admit to it._

_ Anyways, these three are definitely not members of the Enforcers sent to shut him up, or else they would not have attacked him out in the open. Attacking someone out on the streets using magic to prevent him from revealing magic to the world is somewhat counterproductive. This means that these three were sent by those with a personal vendetta against Shirou or, more likely, the Emiya family in general._

_ After all, Shirou had inherited a great many things from his father, Kiritsugu. This just happens to be one of the more negative parts of the Emiya life that he would have to contend with. Being an assassin known as the Magus Killer, Kiritsugu had undoubtedly made a great many enemies in the magi community. These three must have been sent by one such enemy._

_ Still, even if Shirou had known that one of his enemies had found him, and even if he had known that they had sent assassins to kill him, he would have never expected them to attack him in such a direct manner, perhaps endangering the secrecy of magic. Than again, they seem to have taken precautions, making sure that the streets were empty (or at least empty enough that they would be able to kill anyone who saw the fight). Furthermore, they had set up a bounded field that he could only assume was meant to prevent any sound of the battle from leaving a certain distance. It was actually the reason why he had moved the fight to the streets, in the hopes of getting outside the radius and forcing them to retreat. Imagine his surprise when the field itself starts moving to keep him encompassed. He would later come to realize that the bounded field is not tied to a particular patch of land, but to one of the magi, the sword wielder, who acts as the epicenter of the field from which it spreads out from, creating a sort of movable bounded field._

_ This makes him wonder if this really is a bounded field and not just another piece of magic that has a similar dampening effect. After all, he wasn't aware that a bounded field could be used in such a manner; but he supposes it doesn't really matter._

_ There is of course a silver lining to this pile of burnt manure, and that would be the command seals that appeared about the same time the "bounded field" did. If he didn't know any better, he might think the Grail was trying to save him…naaaah, probably just a coincidence. This, of course, gives him a destination and the only chance of surviving this three on one battle. All he needs to do is get back home, get close enough to the summoning circle to enact the ritual, do a ten-count aria all while dodging the attacks of three magi more skilled than he, hope the Servant is willing to fight them off for him, and if he or she is, make some tea for said Servant. And all of this is to be done without the healing power of Avalon because they happened to attack him two days after giving it to a woman with her arm cut of._

_ Piece of cake; speaking of cake, he probably should offer to make some for his Servant as part of his thank you._

_ In all honesty, though, he knows he's having a weird day when he is cursing ever having been raised by Kiritsugu instead of some other family (the Velvet family, perhaps?) and overjoyed in joining a death match between super humans that can level buildings… son of a bitch, maybe the Grail did plan this!_

_ Well, he supposes now all that matters is surviving._

_ Shirou lowers his arm to see the sword magus charging at him. Running perpendicular to the magus, Shirou traces a sword in his hand, the same sword the magus is using as a matter of fact, just in time to block the swing of the magus's sword, bringing up sparks. The two exchange a handful of blows while running parallel to each other before Shirou's sixth sense screams at him. He pushes off the magus, barely dodging a stone spear aimed at him that shatters on contact with the ground. He twirls around, tossing his sword at the earth magus, who is forced to jump down from the roof to dodge the sword. Meanwhile, Shirou lashes out at the sword magus with his back foot, succeeding in sending him stumbling back again before breaking into a dead run, only to meet a conflagration of fire created by the fire magus in an attempt to stall him. Instead of slowing down, however, Shirou lowers his center of gravity and, leading with his shoulder like a halfback intent on plowing his way through the opposition, he charges into the conflagration at a full sprint._

_ Emerging out the other side no worse for wear but with his clothes singed, Shirou is forced to sidestep a stalagmite that suddenly formed in front of him, intent on impaling him, before going into a diving roll to avoid a trio of falling stalactites. A pair of stone pillars form on both sides of him, intent on crushing him between them. Shirou jumps up, and pushes off the left pillar with his legs, which gives him enough height to avoid being crushed and ending with him lying on top of the now fused stone pillars. Shirou takes a short breather, which proves to be a mistake when he sees a huge stone fist flying down to paste him on the pillars. He rolls off the pillars, avoiding the full brunt of the force coming down but not being able to avoid getting clipped by the attack, sending him tumbling away, thankfully in the direction he was heading. _

_ He got to his feet just in time to see the fire magus finish collecting the conflagration in the palm of her hand and than sent the giant fireball whisking towards him. Shirou had just enough time to trace a pair of swords and cross them in front of him before the fireball struck, melting the swords and once again sending him flying back in the direction he is going anyways. Hey, whatever works._

_ Upon landing, he leaps to the left to avoid another stone spear, raising his lower body in midair, ending with his body parallel to the lance of flame beneath him that he avoided. While still midair, he draws his bow on his back, traces an arrow, and fires, and than fires another traced arrow the moment he lands. The pair of arrows forces the fire magus to stay on the defensive. Shirou continues running, knowing that he is nearing his house, and indeed seeing the wall that separates the courtyard from the street. He twists his body, barely dodging the blow from the sword magus aimed for his heart, grazing his ribs. Shirou jumps, and the sword magus, thinking that he is about to do a drop kick to his chest, braces himself. Instead, Shirou kicks off the magus, sending him flying over the wall and giving him the time to trace two weapons: a katana and a knife, the latter which is thrown at the fire magus to interrupt her incantation, the former which is used to parry the strike of the leaping sword magus. The two exchange blows on the way down and ending with them in a sword clash upon landing to the ground. Sensing something, the two glance up, and they both push off each other to avoid a giant stone fist smashing down._

_ Shirou takes another leap back, landing in front of his shed. Knowing that to fight down in his shed would be his doom in such an enclosed area, he just has to hope that he is close enough to the summoning circle for this to work. He glances up, his bounded field telling him of three intruders in his home through the telltale sound of ringing in the back of his mind… which is oh so insightful information to have at this juncture. In the center is the sword magus, who glares briefly at the earth magus before slowly approaching Shirou with his sword, a scimitar he finally notices, drawn. To his left is the earth magus, who leaps down to join him and to his right is the fire magus, who decides to stay on the wall._

_ "Any last words, Emiya Shirou?" spoke the sword magus, the first time any of them have ever said a word in this entire fight. Letting his katana dissipate, Shirou traces a pair of knives, smiles and says, "Silver and Iron to the origin." He than tosses both of his knives, one at each of the elemental users. The sword magus, meanwhile, eyes widen in realization as he charges at Shirou, intent on killing him before he can finish the aria._

_ "Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone." In his panic to finish Shirou off quickly, though, he has forgotten one simple fact: as long as he is close to him and as long as Shirou keeps his back to the shed, the other two won't be able to use there ranged spells in fear of hitting their comrade, meaning that they will either have to stay on the sidelines hoping to get a clean shot or they will have to join in with there own close quarters fighting ability, something that he will have an easier time dealing with. The fire magus seems content to wait on the wall for that shot, while the earth magus has decided to charge in, without any weapons noticeable enough so he must be a hand to hand combatant. Shirou ducks under the first swing of the scimitar, intent on beheading him. In response, his fist shoots out towards the sword magus's stomach, which is able to twist out of the way of his blow. Shirou sidesteps to the left to dodge the second swing, before his left elbow rushes towards the sword magus's head, who dodges it by cocking his head to the left. Shirou ducks under the third swing, spinning to his right to face the earth magus, whose right fist is coming forward in a quick jab. He deflects the blow with a high sweeping kick to his arm, while simultaneously backhanding the sword magus's left temple._

_ "The Ancestor is my great master Schweinorg." The earth magus left fist aims for his temples with a haymaker, which he blocks with his right arm before head butting him, who instinctually clutches his nose. _Hey, what do you know? My thick skull is actually useful for something._ Shirou than follows it up with a roundhouse kick to his right cheek, sending him stumbling to the ground and giving Shirou the centripetal force to spin all the way around, just in time to see the sword magus go for another beheading blow. He dodges the blow by bending his upper body backwards, which leaves Shirou out of position for his next strike, a downward swing aiming to cleave his skull, forcing Shirou to catch the blade between the palms of his hand._

_ "The alighted wind becomes a wall." Shirou yanks the scimitar to his left, planting the tip into the ground. He rights himself, using a haymaker to the sword magus's right temple before spinning around, interlocking his two hands into one fist and smashing it into the right temple of the earth magus, or rather his right arm, who was able to raise it to prevent Shirou's strike from doing any incapacitating damage, but not from sending him stumbling from the force of the blow. Shirou than snaps a kick out towards the sword magus's head. He catches his foot._

_ "The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown." The sword magus flips Shirou into the air… and into the direct path of a lance of flame. Shirou barely has enough time to trace two katanas before the fire hits him, sending him flying into the wall of the shed. He quickly rolls forward and onto his feet, tossing one of his katanas at the fire magus, before leaping back to avoid the impalement from a stalagmite. The earth magus snaps the stalagmite from the ground before throwing it at him like a lance, forcing Shirou to deflect it upwards with his katana. He lands, spinning around to face the sword magus, who has recovered his scimitar._

_ "The three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate." They exchange two blows before a flying stone spear intent on impaling him from behind forces him to sway his body to the left to dodge. Likewise, the sword magus is forced to fall to one knee to dodge it, something Shirou takes advantage of my smashing his katana down on the perpendicular scimitar, forcing the two into a deadlock for a few moments._

_ "Shut (Fill). Shut (Fill). Shut (Fill). Shut (Fill). Shut (Fill). Repeat every five times." The deadlock ends when the sword magus shoves his katana to the left, elbowing him in the face and sending Shirou stumbling back._

_ "Simply shatter once filled." He and the sword magus circle each other briefly before the sword magus charged, aiming for a beheading blow._

_ Again._

_ Shirou ducks under the blow, thrusting his katana towards the man's heart, who sweeps his scimitar in and up, sending the tip of the katana over his right shoulder before slashing his sword down in an attempt to cleave Shirou's skull. Shirou parries him before backhanding the sword magus, sending him stumbling back. Shirou than dashes towards him and leaps, intent on thrusting his sword where the neck and the shoulder meet._

_ "I announce. Yourself is under me, my fate (doom) is in your sword." The sword magus leans backwards to dodge the thrust before trapping the katana between his scimitar and his body. He head butts Shirou, sending him stumbling back and losing the grip on the katana. The sword magus than throws it at Shirou's head, who makes it disappear in motes of golden light, but not before instinctually glancing away. Seeing the earth magus preparing a spell, he traces a knife and throws it at him. The earth magus catches it inches away from his eye without even flinching before sending it right back at Shirou. Shirou, not wanting to be outdone, deflects the knife with a newly traced broadsword, sending it right at the fire magus who proceeds to melt it into nothing with a spear of flame._

_ "In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail." Shirou than positions the blade behind his right shoulder, blocking the sword magus's apparent go to technique of beheading, than, leading with his right shoulder, shoves the man back sending him stumbling. He isn't able to take advantage, however, due to being forced to destroy a pair of stone spears sent flying at him by the earth magus, allowing the sword magus to recover. He charges Shirou, intent on piercing his heart with one thrust of his sword, but Shirou deflects the strike, and than with a quick jab from his left hand to the man's throat, caused a gag reflex. Once more maintaining a two-handed grip, Shirou swings his broadsword downward, but aborts when he is forced to deflect yet more stone spears._

_ "If you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer." Once again the sword magus is given a chance to recover, moving in to cleave his skull at the same time a stone spear is flying in to pierce his chest. Taking a large swing, Shirou destroys the stone spear, than turning around to block the sword magus's attack. Halfway through the turn, he grabs the blade of the broadsword, and blocks the strike before smashing the hilt of his sword into the left temple of the sword magus. He than plants the sword into the ground, and, using the sword as leverage, he hoists himself up and kicks the man in the face. Landing back on his feet, he spins around and tosses six knives in quick succession. None of them got through due to the fire magus's pinpoint strikes._

_ "Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead." However instead of sending stone spears like he has been doing lately, the earth magus creates the stone fist again and sends it smashing down on him, forcing Shirou to quickly yank the broadsword out of the ground and leap to the left, turning midair to deflect the blow of the sword magus, who also jumped to the left to meet him midair. They exchange thrusts and counters until they land, and than are forced to separate once again when a second stone fist comes crashing down. The moment Shirou lands, he is forced to move again, rolling to the left to avoid the four stone pillars , the "manacles of the stone monster" from earlier, putting him once again in front of the only doorway into the shed, and face to face (so to speak) with a large spear of fire._

_ "I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead." He didn't even have time to trace a sword. All he can do is brace himself with the sword he has. The lance of fire hits, melting the sword in his hand, and sending a blossom of molten hot pain through his chest as he is launched into his shed, vaguely hearing a woman shout, "Bull's-eye!" before landing in front of his summoning circle, which is glowing, so that's a good sign. Before he can stand up however, the scimitar flies in, piercing him right through his left shoulder. He had to clench his teeth to keep from screeching in pain. He heard cautious steps coming down, the earth magus coming into view. _

_ "Gotta say, kiddo," said the earth magus, "for a Jap, you gave us a better fight than we were expecting. Than again, we weren't exactly expecting much." A sadistic grin crossed his face. "I do hope you enjoyed our company. Have a nice day." He than outstretched his arms, a stone lance appearing over his head._

_ So is this how his life is going to end? Skewered by a sadistic bastard like this. No. No! He will not die here, not like this, not when there are still so many people that he can help; that he can save. No, he will not die here today. He may not be able to swing a sword in his present condition, but who ever said one needed to use there arms to swing a sword? With that thought, Shirou traced the first sword that came to mind and let it fly. The scimitar intercepted the stone spear halfway through. The earth magus blinked, apparently surprised that he was able to defend himself against one more attack. Only for his eyes to widen, immediately followed by him leaping back to avoid being skewered by another scimitar. He was than forced to put up a shield of stone when another scimitar came flying at him. And another. And another. While his enemy was effectively pinned down, he stretched his hands out towards the summoning circle and finished the aria. "You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, oh keeper of the balance!" _

_ A flash of light engulfed the room before suddenly dimming, smoke coming from the summoning circle. Silence engulfed the room for a few moments, only to be interrupted when the earth magus pitched forward through the smoke, smacking against the ground with a look of pure confusion on his face. Puncture wounds on both sides of his temples were present, either from one weapon that punctured clean through his skull, or a pair of weapons. He heard a sickening crack, and looked up to see the body of the sword magus tumbling down the stairs, his head twisted so far around that it went a complete 180, his face sitting on the opposite side of when he lasted saw it. He can also smell something, an odor that he is not surprised at being presence (after all there was a battle) but is surprised at its potency: blood._

_ He has no doubts about who was responsible for this massacre of the magi that have been giving him Hell for the past however long it took for him to get back here: the Servant. He briefly considers preparing to defend himself before shaking such thoughts away, wondering if the pain is responsible for him almost falling to lower depths of stupidity. Even if he weren't in his current state, Shirou doubts he would be able to stand against a Servant for very long. The two dead magi currently keeping him company speak to that. Furthermore, the Servant would have very few reasons to want to kill him, and one very good reason to keep him alive and well. It's probably best not to poison his relationship with his partner in the coming Holy Grail War (of which he is now officially a part of…fuck) by threatening him or her, no matter how ineffectual the threat may be. He would much rather be on good terms with the person he will be trusting his life to in the near future._

_ To that end, he has decided to make himself as presentable as possible to him or her._

_ Gripping the scimitar currently impaled in his shoulder, he took a breath to steady his hands and yanked the sword out, hissing in pain. He placed the sword down gently to his right (who knows how useful the scimitar might be later) before slowly and painfully sliding himself backwards to lean against the wall behind him. He glances down to see the mess of third and second degree burns across his chest, no doubt the reason for his difficulty to breath. _Oooh,this might be a little difficult to hide from Taiga_. Thank goodness people rarely ever come to his house, or he might have been in a great deal of trouble. As is, it's going to be difficult enough to keep this hidden (not to mention the shoulder wound) when he goes to visit her at her place tomorrow so he can cook dinner._

_ His thoughts are dragged away by the sound of slow and measured footsteps coming down the stairs which are slowly getting louder. The Servant (his Servant) has returned. He glances up so that he can get his first look at the person he had summoned as they slowly come to view feet first._

_ Wearing a pair of black and purple boots, at first Shirou thought she had on a pair of black stockings that rose to mid thigh. Upon further inspection however he realized that it wasn't a pair of black stockings at all, but is in fact a part of the boots. Her hair is of a violet color several shades (and with a hint of pink thrown in) lighter than that of the girl he occasionally sees walking the halls of the school. It's also so long that even Rapunzal would raise an eyebrow at its length, nearly reaching the floor. Shirou can't help but think that the hair might prove to be disadvantageous, though he admittedly has a hard time seeing a hero whose skills and feats are so legendary that they ascend to the ranks of pseudo-gods resorting to hair pulling to win a fight. He also couldn't help but think that all that hair must be a bitch to maintain. Than again, one of the many perks of being a Heroic Spirit, and thus, you know, dead, is that she probably doesn't even have to worry about such things._

_ Lucky Minx._

_ Her legs are long, powerful, and if the small slit of visible skin between the dress and the boots are any indication, oh so pale. Speaking of dresses, the black one piece with purple trims seems to expose as much skin as possible while still maintaining some decency. The lower half rides up dangerously high while the upper half leaves her pale shoulders and the cleavage of her rather impressive assets bare. Interestingly enough, much like her legs, her arms are covered to halfway up her upper arm with a pair of fingerless gloves, held in place by a pair of purple bands, one around her wrist and one around her upper arm. She also wore a purple collar around her slim neck. Shirou isn't quite sure how, but this ensemble succeeded in being as indecent as possible while at the same time showing off very little skin. It also went out of its way to show off a physique that would drive female supermodels to a jealous fury, assuming of course it doesn't drive them to change their preferences in the face of such a radiant beauty._

_ He knows he would if he were a female supermodel._

_ Covering a third of her face is a purple blindfold covering her eyes and held together by two metal bands on the bridge of her nose. Finally, on her forehead is a tattoo in red ink of a symbol he doesn't recognize. Perhaps it's a character used in whatever language her home country uses?_

_ He has to admit though that if he didn't know any better he would have been less likely to think that she was a warrior in a seven way free-for-all fought over a cup that can grant a single wish and more likely to think that she was going to say 'who's your daddy?' (Of which his reply would be 'I don't know') before pulling out a whip. Seriously, was this woman a dominatrix in her previous life?_

_ On the other hand, Shirou wouldn't be surprised to see her in a seven way free-for-all of… another kind._

_ This fact, of course, makes him wonder what type of FUCKING WAR HE HAS ENDED UP IN WHERE ONE OF THE PARTICAPANTS IS DRESSED LIKE THAT!?_

_ His Servant…err…the woman stops a few feet away from his sitting form, her arms hanging by her sides, her face unreadable. Well, maybe unreadable is not the right word choice. Cuneiform is unreadable. Hieroglyphs are unreadable. By comparison, his Serv… the woman's face is completely blank. There is nothing at all to read on her face, like a book without words._

_ She'd make one hell of a poker player._

_ The woman stood there for a few moments completely still, apparently just studying him. At the same time, she unintentionally added statues to the list of things that would be driven to jealous fury by her. Finally, she spoke._

_ "I ask of you, are you my master?"_

_ Shirou felt a shiver go up his spine upon hearing her husky voice. He supposes that he shouldn't be surprised that she has somehow weaponized eroticism. Maybe that's her Noble Phantasm? Maybe he found a yet unheard of class, Servant _Fabulous_._

_ In all seriousness though, her voice unnerved him even more. Her voice, her looks, the smell of blood that he has been able to identify is definitely emanating from her, it all paints a picture: this woman is dark, gloomy, and most definitely dangerous._

_ Still… she hasn't threatened him yet (indeed, she had saved his life), and doesn't seem to have any intent to kill him. Besides, it seems rather shallow of him to base how he sees her solely on her looks. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover. There might be more to her._

_ He begs of you, Akasha, please have more to her!_

Well, I might as well answer her. _With that thought, he looks up at her face, looking her right in where he assumes her eyes are, and smiles... before realizing that she can't see his smile due to wearing a blindfold. Well, let's just hope she can hear his smile in his voice._

_ "I was the one responsible for summoning you," he said, "but I am master to no one; least of all you, who shouldn't be servant to anyone." She stared at him incredulously, or at least he assumes she is staring at him incredulously due to not responding. For a moment he was afraid that he may have insulted her before she finally responded with the tilt of her head, apparently interested. He took that as a sign to continue. "What I am saying is that if you do not wish to work with me, than I will not force you to. I will, of course, still provide you with the power you need, but in every other respect I will have no control over what you do. You will be free to do whatever you wish." He paused, wanting to see her reaction, or in this case lack thereof, for if his words have set her thought processes into overtime, she didn't let it show on her face._

_ Add poker players to the list of those driven to jealous fury. At this rate, the entire world is going to hate her._

_ He continued once more, this time more hesitantly. "If…if you wish to be my partner, though, and if you wish to fight with me, than I will graciously accept your help." He paused expectantly, waiting to hear her answer. After a moment of what he can only assume is contemplation, a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips in a moment so brief he wonders if he had imagined it before she went down on one knee in front of him. _

_"In response to your summons, I have come," she said, "My blade will be at your side from here on out. From now on, whatever fate awaits you awaits me." She than lowered her head in deference, looking like a vassal about to be knighted by their lord._

_ Uh, is this all part of the ritual? Is she going to be kissing his hand next or something? For some reason, he has this weird feeling that if she were to kiss his hand, she would find a way to make it erotic._

_She raised her head. "The accord with us has now been struck." _

_Well, this had actually turned out to go rather well. She had placed a great deal more weight to her words than he had expected, meaning that she has taken her oaths seriously. Whether this is because she planned on taking them seriously from the beginning or because he had created such a good first impression that she believed him worthy to be loyal to is up to debate. Looks like they're going to be partners. Now they need to figure out how many more Servants still need to be summoned so they can have an approximation on when the war starts. Come to think of it, he doesn't believe she told him her…_

_ "I am Servant Rider," she cut in, rising to her feet._

_ … Class._

_ … Of course she's the Servant Rider. What other class could she be that could fit so perfectly? Of course he would have the Servant of the Mount. She has probably Mounted with many different people, Ridden through many cities. Oh, he is sure that she is an excellent Rider; top notch! After all, woman like her almost always have a high Riding skill. It's almost a requirement for woman of her trade to be able to Mount on command._

_ He supposes that it doesn't really matter too much. He'll just have to live with it. Right now, though, he has a much bigger problem to contend with: what type of tea and cake would she like the most?_

* * *

No. No, no, nonono, it couldn't be her. It couldn't be Medu-chan. No, it's definitely not Medu-chan. Medu-chan is gone, swallowed up by the legendary figure Medusa when her time on Earth ended. That of course doesn't mean that Medusa wasn't somehow summoned. Granted, the last time she was summoned, it was with the help of an instrument of unlimited power, and even than it required them to be placed in a power limiter, or the class system. The idea of being able to bind fully powered Heroic Spirits to your will is just as ludicrous as binding the Crimson Moon.

Still, if it could be done before, it could be done again. The power requirement to do so would undoubtedly be immense, requiring probably dozens of magi, and they would need to place her in a class. Furthermore, Shirou already knows that a single magus can produce enough prana to support a servant. Bazett, after all, has enough prana to keep Lancer, albeit with weakened abilities. When she had revealed this to him, he was surprised and jealous with a smidgen of sadness. Lancer, having apparently taken notice of his sadness, had offered Bazett up to him, to her indignation and embarrassment with a smidgen of interest. Lancer had just laughed at her denials of interest in amusement and amusement with a smidgen of amusement.

So it is possible, if extremely difficult and no doubt time consuming, to summon a Servant. If that's the case, than what is she doing here? Is it just a coincidence that she is in the same airport as him, and is merely passing through?

No, the smell of blood emanating from her is getting stronger, which means she is moving closer to him, and ever since the accursed machine had apparently labeled him a terrorist (which is rather ironic, considering his "night job"), he was placed in an area of the airport that no one who is just "passing through" would have any reason to venture to.

Than she's at the airport for a reason. Has she come for him or someone else?

No, more than likely him. He saw the length of the hallway, and while quite long, it's not large enough to be outside the radius of his magic senses; he would know if a magus was within range and no magus would ever put up with such a delay. Come to think of it, why is he putting up with this delay? Great, for once in his life, acting nothing like a magus has backfired on him.

Shirou briefly considered the possibility that she is after a non-magus, but quickly dismissed the thought as ludicrous. He doubts any magus would go to the trouble of summoning a Servant without the Grail to assassinate some hapless non-magus… not that a magus would be any less hapless against a Servant.

So she's probably here for him. Does she plan on assassinating him, perhaps? He has, after all, played fast and loose with the rules ever since the Holy Grail War ended about eleven years ago, but not to the point where he has brought down the wrath of the Enforcers. Despite the fact that his alter-egos across four countries are quite famous, he has succeeded in hiding the fact that most of his feats have been done through magic.

The fact that he's made love with…err… had a prana transfer ritual with… on good terms with a prominent member of the Enforcers probably helps.

However, some of the more prominent and older members of the Magus Association, also known as the Clock Tower, believe him to be a continued threat to the sanctity and secrecy of magic. They have already sent a number of assassins out to kill him. Also, one shouldn't forget that he is still an Emiya, and thus still has many magi wanting revenge against his father… and a few against him.

No, assassinating seems unlikely, as he is still in a public area, and the odds of a fight, regardless of how outclassed he is, dragging out into a more public place are much too high. Attacking in the middle of the day, or the afternoon by this point, when the airport is still crowded with people, is something no magus would ever do. Plus, she probably would have already reached him by now if that were the case.

Than what is she here… wait… isn't a member of MBI supposed to show up at some point to diagnose the problem with the accursed machine? But what reason would Medusa have to work for a pharmaceutical company?

…Unless they were the ones who had summoned her, and have somehow bound her to servitude. But as he has already established, to summon a Servant would require the power of dozens of magi. Did a large group of magi create MBI for purposes unknown? While it is extremely rare for magi to work together to better their own knowledge of magic , for they are a hoarding bunch that rarely give away information unless they must, it has been known to happen. If that's the case, though, than why make it a public venture? What advantages could be gained from having stock holders?

He's missing something, a piece of information that would make this puzzle complete. As is though, what he does know is that she will soon be walking through the only door into this small room, and he very much doubts that she is here to diagnose the accursed machine. She probably wouldn't know the first thing to do in such a situation, though in her defense he probably wouldn't either. That's of course assuming that Structural Analysis doesn't give him what he needs to know.

The door finally opened, and she stepped in. Only she wasn't who Shirou was expecting, and that fact filled him with disappointment.

The woman was quite tall by Japanese standards, and in fact is about the same height as Rider. Despite that, she is still shorter than him; something that Medu-chan admitted being thrilled about (because she could look up at him) due to having an inferiority complex about her height. Ironically, in other parts of the world, her height is not anything to write home about. She's above average, sure, but that is still relatively common in those parts of the world. Shirou has since met many women as tall as or even taller than her. Though, he has heard that over the centuries, humanity's average height has been increasing. Given that piece of information, it wouldn't stretch the bounds of logic to think that back at her time, she was considered tall, especially for a woman.

Tied in a ponytail, her hair was a silver color that was a great deal more healthy than most hair he has seen of that color. Much like Rider's battle gear (or, as he has taken to calling it in his head, _Fabulous_ gear), she had on a one piece black dress that was almost indecently high but at least had the courtesy to cover her shoulders. This courtesy proved to be pointless, however, due to the grey lab coat she is wearing over her shoulders like a cape. She had on a pair of black stockings (and yes, they are stockings this time) go up to nearly the top of her thighs, leaving a sliver of exposed skin under the dress. All in all, she definitely possesses supermodel level beauty, despite the bags under her eyes that suggest sleep deprivation. He can't help but think, though, that if all the jealously furious supermodels of the world were to ever get in line to beat up Rider, she would be the first in line.

Not because she would be jealously furious of Rider's beauty, but because she would want to get a good fight out of her.

What gives him this impression is the sheathed nodachi in her possession, with the only part visible being the black grip; but that doesn't matter, for all he needs to see is a part of the weapon to be able to use Structural Analysis on it. True, in most cases, he is required to touch the item to be able to use Structural Analysis; in the case of blades, however, they are immediately analyzed on sight, be they lances, axes, knives, scythes… or swords.

Especially swords.

This particular sword is ninety-nine centimeters long and composed of titanium-carbon monocrystal alloy strong enough to cut through freakin' tanks and able to withstand stresses no normal human can hope to put on it. Which goes to show that her strength is a great deal more than any human's strength is due to the microscopic fissures along the edge of the blade created due to the stress put on it.

Being gifted a chance to see such a fine weapon of war was almost enough for him to pardon her of her other offenses.

Almost; he is going to have words with her.

To say that he is happy that she is the one to walk through the door would be a lie. He will never admit to anyone the fact that he was hoping that Medusa would be the one walking in. Despite the fact that she wouldn't be his Rider, or his Medu-chan, he wanted to see her again. Worse, this woman has the exact same odor that Rider had. While he supposes that it probably not a good thing to be associated with the smell of blood, he had always considered that smell to be uniquely hers. While the other Servants had an aura to them (Saber an aura of warmth, Lancer of bloodlust, Caster of sadness, etc, etc), none of them had an aroma accompanying them. The fact that this… woman does is infuriating.

But it is something he is willing to overlook because it is just an odor.

What Shirou is not willing to overlook is the history he had gleamed from the sword; her history. History of bloodshed in which she fought and killed hundreds of people in battle (if he were to consider the slaughters he's seen as "battles"), and she _enjoyed it_. But even that is not an issue to him. After all, Lancer is just like that, and despite Lancer trying to kill him many times (and vice-versa), they are on good terms with each other.

No, the problem with this woman is her utter contempt for humanity. She believes them to be beneath her, nothing more than ants before her blade. To be played with for her amusement and to be stepped on at her leisure.

He thinks it would be best to dissuade her of that theory. It would be best to curb her of those ideas before she decides to become leisurely. He would rather avoid having to kill her, partly because if he can purge the arrogance from her system he might actually be able to get along well with her, and partly because it has always been his way to avoid killing whenever possible. Very few people truly deserve to die. Shirou would rather avoid having to take the lives of someone's loved one.

He still remembers the image of a little girl with white hair clutching at the legs of her giant protector, dead and disappearing on his feet. Most people have loved ones. Almost no one deserves to die.

Well, except for that accursed machine currently being pushed in by the second woman; maybe Archer, too.

The second woman was a great deal shorter than the first, but would be considered average height here. Her hair was pure white, which is odd because he had placed her to be in her forty's, and while it wouldn't have surprised him to see her hair starting to grey, he wouldn't have expected it to have gone completely white already. Shirou guesses she had inherited the Archer hair syndrome. Well, actually, considering her age, it would probably be the other way around. She had on a white lab coat that covered her all the way down to her knees. On her lab coat is an identity card that announced her to be a Takami Sahashi, Assistant Director of MBI.

So they do work for MBI. It's rather unsettling to think that something clearly not human is working for that company.

He of course is referring to the machine that put him here in the first place.

Shirou glared at his hated foe, wishing he had used Excalibur while he still had the chance. The Sword of Promised Victory would have no doubt not even damaged it, though, and he doubts even the power of Unlimited Blade Works could have scattered the beast asunder. Clearly a fearsome enemy to behold.

He glanced over to the other woman, who had positioned herself by the corner (which is a good thing because if she were here to intimidate him she would have positioned herself behind him) a smile beaming at him (which may be a bad thing depending on whether the smile is because of the obvious animosity he showed to the machine or because she is happy to be able to get a chance to hurt someone). The smile proves to be rather infectious, leading him to return it.

"Hello Ojou-san," Shirou said with a nod to the woman, whose smile widened in response. He glanced over to Sahashi-san, who had plucked the chair opposite him and sat down. "Hello Sensei," he added, eliciting a snort from her. "I assume that you are here about…"

"Cut the crap," she said, cutting him off, "Who are you and who do you work for?"

…Well shit, this is going to get worse before it gets any better.

"Well that's rather rude," he said, "are you sure your not mistaking me for the asshole in room four?" This elicited a snort of amusement from the other woman. Sahashi-san, who had started to type away at the machine (which is no doubt currently whispering honeyed lies into her ears in an attempt to convince her to kill him and mutilate his corpse before going on a killing spree), paused to glare at him.

"Karasuba," she said her voice like a whip. He heard a hiss of steel, and in a move so fast he barely saw it she drew her blade, resting it on his throat. She sauntered towards Shirou, stopping when she stood behind him in the common intimidation position for interrogations, her blade steady on his throat.

… Yep, looks like he's going to have to start Operation Storm Shadow AKA piss off the interrogators with loads of obnoxious and snarky behavior until they give up. He can't decide which is worse, the fact that he has done this so often he has it named or the fact that this would be the second time in one week that he would be in this situation.

Fucking Archer.

* * *

Karasuba needs to only wait a little bit longer to make the world burn. Why, one may ask, would she want to go about doing something like that? Why, one may inquire, would she want to invoke a slaughter?

Because it amuses her.

She can almost imagine the beauty of the moment when the flames, the conflagration of fire, spreads across the planet. How intoxicating the death and despair will be, provoked by the cleansing fire upon the weak, the pathetic, the human; and only the strong will survive. It is said that the meek shall inherit the Earth. No one said, though, that the inheritance will always be theirs. It is said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Soon it will be time for her to put that to the test.

Over the centuries humanity has lost its luster (what little luster they had). They have conquered the world, after all, so what reason do they have to struggle? What reason do they have to fight? They have grown complacent in their mockery of power and supposed glory, but just like all other empires, they will fall. Just like Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, Byzantine, Islam; all great empires, all that have fallen to the hordes. Eventually, the barbarians will be at the gate to bring their empire to an end. Than, in the void of the chaotic new world will rise legends, the heroes and villains of a new era.

Karasuba will readily admit to anyone who asks that she was born in the wrong century. While she will admit to having a grudging respect for humanity as a whole, after all they must have done something right to have conquered the entire world, on an individual basis they are barely worth acknowledging, clearly being inferior to Sekirei. If what she has read about in the past is any indication, however, humanity was not always like that. The times of myth and legend are when she should have been born. To be given the chance to wrestle with Heracles, have a duel to the death with King Arthur, ride out in conquest with Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, battle with the monsters of the darkness and the night such as the Gorgon or the Kraken. A world where fantastic battles are just around the corner for her to pit her skills; and if Karasuba were to die, what concern is that to her? It would mean that she had fallen to a worthy foe, an enemy she would graciously concede defeat to.

Even now, there are so few challenges for her to fight. Even amongst her brethren, only two can provide her with the fight she thirsts for, one already being dead and the other having retired. Though, it must be said that the Sekirei that person sacrificed herself for, #88 Musubi, is intriguing. At the moment she is hardly any stronger than any of the other trash, but she has what very few of the Sekerei have: determination. #88 is determined to win the Sekerei plan, is determined to best her in one on one combat, is determined to fulfill that person's dream that she has adopted and prove Karasuba wrong about the nature of the Ashikabi. About the nature of _love_.

Determination can go a long ways in battle, and Karasuba has no doubt that #88 will have greatly improved fighting abilities if (when) they face off. Perhaps #88 will provide her with the challenge she craves, and if she doesn't, than she guesses the world will have to burn. If she wants a world of legend and myth, than she will have to pave a way for it. Karasuba cannot go back to it, assuming that such a world ever existed at all, which means that she will have to bring it to her.

What most people don't seem to understand is that a forest fire is a natural and necessary part of life; and like a forest fire, she will purify the world of the weak, of the pathetic, of the meek.

But that is of course all in the future. After all, the Sekirei Plan is still only in its first phase, and less than two thirds of the Sekirei have been released. Karasuba estimates that it would probably take two months, perhaps three, to reach the end of the Plan. She supposes she could speed up the process by killing a number of her brethren herself, but after a while, going on killing sprees start to bore her. Much better to pace herself. Besides, at the present moment she is much too busy roughing up, or she should say about to rough up, a corporate spy.

If (a big fat if) there are two things she loves besides battle, it would be seeing the look of terror and helplessness on the face of a human when they realize yes, they are inferior and seeing Takami getting completely riled up.

The fact that the latter is already happening, and the former is going to happen soon means that she is already having a pretty good day. She reaches the door with Takami not far behind, and opened it to get her first look at her new plaything.

He was a rather tall specimen, with broad shoulders and is fairly young, probably in his mid-twenties. He had a mass of red hair kept short and slicked back, presumably with jell, and…rather exquisitely…beautiful golden eyes of a kind she's never seen before.

…that was odd. What was that? She mentally shakes her head, dismissing that… whatever it was.

He had on an all white business suit, a navy blue dress shirt, and a white tie. She can only assume that he is also wearing a pair of white dress pants as well due to the table he is sitting behind blocking her view. On his hands is a pair of black gloves.

…He's actually rather cute. How lucky of her, because it's always the good looking ones that she loves to hurt the most.

That thought brought a smile to her lips. At least she thinks it was the thought.

"Hello Ojou-san," the man said to her with a nod and a returning smile just as Takami stepped into the room. Her smile widened unbidden, pleased that he was smiling at her. Wait, why was she pleased about that? Granted, he has a…rather nice smile… that gives his face a… pleasant…

_What the hell is going on, _she snarled to herself, purposely derailing her thought. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that she was reacting to him. That is, of course, unlikely, due to the fact that she is already reacting to one Natsuo Ichinomi, a clerk in MBI's pharmaceutical department, that she doesn't have a tugging feeling in her chest that would inform her of her reaction, and that she hasn't had to deal with this… whatever it is around Natsuo. Indeed her reaction to Natsuo has to do more with compatibility of motives than it does with compatibility of personality. The fact that Karasuba is acting… smitten? Is disturbingly similar to something else she is aware of.

She has, after all, heard of the tactic known as "taming", one favored by the Ashikabi of the South Hayato Mikogami, though she hears that the Ashikabi of the East Higa Izumi has been stepping up his game in this regard, starting what can only be described as a Sekirei arms race that will no doubt end with the two of them owning a large majority of the 108 Sekirei. The tactic is quit simply where the Ashikabi wings a Sekirei not reacting to them, and despite being winged by force the Sekirei almost always starts to develop feelings for their Ashikabi.

Of course, it's not quite the same as whatever is going on as she doesn't currently have an Ashikabi, nor does she plan on getting one any time soon, despite reacting. Odds are, it probably has nothing to do with this man, who is currently greeting Takami, and thankfully it doesn't seem to be impeding her willingness to rough him up, so she doubts it will have any effect on her duties. Afterwards, though, she's going to have to pull aside a few researchers so they can analyze her and diagnose the problem. Until then, she will have to live with being smitten with this man.

Karasuba never thought she would hear herself think that.

"I assume you are here about…" said the man, only to be cut of by Takami.

"Cut the crap. Who are you and who do you work for?" He responded with a… elegant raise of an eyebrow that accentuates his sophisticated char…

…Well, shit, this is going to get worse before it gets any better.

"Well that's rather rude," he said, "are you sure your not mistaking me for the asshole in room four?" This elicited a snort of amusement from Karasuba, which she can for once not blame the smite on. She would have found that line amusing regardless.

"Karasuba." Takami, evidently, did not, but she acquiesced to her command, drawing her blade and resting it on his throat under his chin. She sauntered behind him, not realizing until after she was in position that she had added a sway in her hips when she moved, presumably to entice him.

"Hey, being held at sword point by a supermodel with an attitude was the last thing on my bucket list," he said in an overly cheerful and undoubtedly mocking way, "I can die happy now." Yes, he can, if 'super' was replaced with 'superior', 'model' with 'being', and 'with an attitude' with 'smitten due to something that is no doubt Takehito's fault'. Still, best not ignore this opportunity to end this infuriating (when she's not fawning) situation.

"Well, since he gave his permission, can I give him the honors of dying to my blade?" She said with a smile much crueler than the one before. Takami gave her a look filled with irritation. _Yes, Takami, you are now currently the only one who actually wants to have a prolonged interrogation. _After all, it's best not to stay here too long. There is no way of knowing what she might do if her symptoms begin to worsen.

"Karasuba," said Takami, pinching the bridge of her nose, "we need to know what he's doing here and who sent him, which would be rather difficult to learn if you were to behead him."

" Actually, I hear the brain continues working for a few moments after being beheaded," he said.

"Right, and a few moments is all we will need to learn everything from this man," said Karasuba. Takami gave them both a look of incredulity, as if she couldn't believe that they are both trying to convince her to order Karasuba to behead him. Than again, when put that way, it is rather bizarre. Takami finally just sighed and apparently decided to ignore the current topic because instead of acknowledging her words, she pulls out her touch screen laptop and said, "Who are you?"

"Shirou," he said, and than, after a dramatic pause, added, "Emiya Shirou."

If Takami weren't currently in the room, she probably wouldn't have played along. Than again, that could be The Smite talking.

"Good evening, Mister Shirou," she said, eliciting a barely audible (even she could barely hear it) groan from Takami, which in turn elicited a smile from Karasuba. _Worth it._

"Who do you work for?" said Takami more irritably than before, their byplay wrecking her nerves.

"Oh, come on, Ojou-san and I pretty much just spelled it out to you," Emiya-san said, "What do I need to do, seduce her? I work for N16!" On any other day, any attempt to try to do exactly that would have probably ended with her breaking his spine. Unfortunately, on this day, due to that damn Smite issue; he might actually get somewhere if he were to turn on the charm.

Takami stared at him flatly before deciding. "Karasuba, he seems to be insane. Could you reorder his brain so we can have a lucid conversation?" Her smile widened at that. _Well, you're the boss. _Karasuba removed the blade from his throat, grabbed the back of his, and violently whipped it down, smashing his forehead into the table. She of course held back a great deal, not wanting to smash his skull like an eggshell (yet, anyways) or have his head go clean through the table (not likely, considering the table is made of metal). Still, that was damn satisfying despite her restraint.

"What's the matter, 007?" Karasuba said to Emiya-san, who is groaning in pain. "Can't take the pressure?"

"No, I'm used to these sorts of things," he said, shaking his head and glaring at her out of the corner of his eye, "and that's 000 to you. 007 hates it when you confuse him with me." Karasuba pouted… for some reason. It's not like she's upset about him shrugging off her attack (gives her more chances to hurt him, after all), so why is she pouting? Granted, she has heard that if done correctly it makes one look rather cu…

_Damn it, not The Smite again… Fucking Takehito._

"Director, I don't think the treatment worked," said Karasuba, "Shall I continue administering it until he's fixed?" Takami opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by Emiya-san.

"Now, now, Ojou-san, the Director already told you not to kill me, which is what this 'treatment' will end up leading to. It's rather difficult to interrogate a corpse."

"I'll manage," she said, her grin turning feral.

"Karasuba," said Takami reproachfully, rubbing her temples as if she had an oncoming headache. "I swear, it's like they're meant for each other," muttered Takami under her breath. Well, the jokes on her, because Karasuba isn't even reacting. Either that, or the jokes on that person because it would be proof that her idiotic ideas about the Power of Love and of how Ashikabis are their true love is complete bullshit.

Not that she doesn't already think the "Power of Love" is complete bullshit, but it's good to have reaffirmation of that fact.

"Listen Emiya-san, if that really is your name," said Takami, obviously nearing the end of her patience, "before you waste any more of my time, I'd suggest taking this seriously or I will order Karasuba to kill you." Which, come to think of it, may well be his end game, assuming that he is a corporate spy: seeing as he is already being interrogated, it would be easy to conclude that he has already been caught, and instead of answering questions that could prove detrimental to his boss, he'd rather goad his enemy into killing him. To die to prevent the secrets of your employers from being unearthed… there's something to respect about that level of loyalty.

Alternatively, he could simple be an idiot… but an amusing idiot. _And there's The Smite talking; again._

"Why should I take this seriously when this is not a serious interrogation?" he said, and she was barely able to contain a flinch (unintentionally saving his life as the movement would have slit his throat) at the sudden shift in his tone. One moment it was jovial and light, the next… as hard as steel. Takami must have also been thrown off, too, if the blink was any indication. He continued.

"This is hardly an interrogation. Indeed, it is quite sloppy and amateurish." Karasuba barely restrained the explosion of giggles. While it is true that this is her first interrogation (her enemies are usually suffering from a severe case of death to be able to pump them for information), how hard could it be? Hurt them until they give her the information they need; simple. She's already holding him by sword point _and_ bashed his head on the table. What more does he need?

Well, other than a few broken bones, but she was already going to do that regardless of if he answered their questions or not.

"So what exactly do you think we've been doing wrong?" She said, not able to keep the laughter out of her voice.

"First off, Ojou-san, you should not be here. You, unfortunately, do not make good muscle." In her defense, she doesn't exactly need muscle. One of the perks of her species.

"The whole point of muscle is to be intimidating, to be a constant threat of violence against the suspect." He leaned back his head to look at her, smiling. For a brief moment, she had the urge to kiss him, undoubtedly due to The Smite.

"You are not intimidating. In fact, if I were to see you in a bar, I would approach you and buy you a drink. You're down right cute." _Cute; cute? Don't insult me, human. _No true warrior is cute, especially her. He leaned his head forward to once again look at Takami, who's frowning.

"And while I'm sure that you are a highly skilled fighter, and greatly feared in MBI, since I know nothing about this all I have to base my fear off of is what you look like, and I have very little reason to fear a supermodel with an attitude." Proof in her book that he is was not sent by a company to infiltrate; if they did, than he would know everything about her. Unless of course it's a feint to make her think that he knows nothing about her and MBI in general.

"After all, the most important thing about the muscle is the right look. I need to be threatened by you on sight. I need to fear you, regardless of how skilled you are. A supermodel, even with a sword, is not threatening." There he goes on about her looking like a supermodel again. What the hell is giving him that impression? She is a warrior, not some bimbo whose sole job is to look pretty… which is pretty much the purpose of most of the other Sekirei, come to think of it.

"Speaking of the sword, threatening to slit my throat is useless. Why threaten to kill me when you need me alive?" Because it's fun? Plus, only Takami needs him alive; she could give a damn about figuring out who sent him. After all, if they kill him, they might send another for her to hurt.

"You might also unintentionally sever my vocal cords, making speech impossible, and even if you didn't, drowning on my own blood would make me disinclined to talk, and unlike your previous assertions, having conversations with dead people is somewhat difficult, Ojou-san." Bah, first supermodel, and now Ojou. If Karasuba didn't know any better, she would think that he was purposely insulting her legacy. She is not just some princess or some floozy. She is the Black Sekerei, MBI's Dog, one who can only be threatened by #01 herself. Her body was made to use the sword. Her hands are of iron, and her eyes of fire. She has survived countless battles. Only once has she been defeated. Only once has another stood. She will always stand on the hill of corpses, intoxicated with her victory. Truly, her body is made to use the sword. So she will not be insulted by some human who knows nothing of power; nothing of strength… so why is it that she can't bring herself to feel insulted? For some reason she doesn't mind being referred to as Ojou, or even as a supermodel (no matter how grossly inaccurate that one is). Bah, must be The Smite talking again.

"Furthermore, considering how long we've been in this room, if you were doing your job correctly, my face would be a bloody mess considering my flippancy." More than just your face would be a bloody mess if it were up to her. Your entire body should be a bloody mess for your flippancy.

"The muscle's job is to beat down the resistance of the subject, making them more willing to talk instead of facing the punishment; but you almost want me to resist." …Eh, that one's fair.

"Which brings me to my final critique: you're a sadist. You're sadism is a mile long. Now one would think that being sadistic would be pretty much a necessity, but ironically, it can be quite detrimental if you can't hide it properly. You, in particular, have given me the impression that regardless of whether or not I answer the questions, you will hurt me. So what incentive would I have to answer?" A quick death? Well, relatively quick death, anyway.

"And you," said Emiya-san, directing his full attention on Takami, "are just as poor at being an interrogator. You just don't have the presence." No arguments here.

"You need to be in control of the conversation. You need to be in control of the flow. You need to be the one in charge, so that when you ask, they have no choice but to answer. But you weren't. You were not in charge, I was. I controlled the flow of information. I controlled the conversation. You have learned one thing from me, my name, and even that you aren't sure is true. It is, by the way. You didn't have the power, I did. You were a fly on the wall in your own interrogation. If you had any power, the muscle would have never spoken. Muscle doesn't need mouths. They don't need to talk to do there jobs, and in fact it can be detrimental to there jobs." He gestured to Karasuba. "Exhibit A. Finally, and most damning of all, how long did it take me to convince you to kill me? A couple of minutes? If I were truly a corporate spy, you would have gotten nothing off of me. Never forget one thing: some people are willing to die to keep there secrets."

With his speech finally over, Takami just glared at him for the next couple of moments. Not surprising, all things considered: the only people who talk down to her are Sekerei, who have every reason to talk down to her. He, on the other hand, is young enough to be her son and yet is treating her like a child.

Takami's anger is downright delicious.

"You seem to know a great deal about interrogation techniques," Karasuba said.

"This is not the first time I've been interrogated," he said with a shrug, "Not even the first time this week. To say that my luck is poor is an understatement. It's so poor my luck declared bankruptcy, and has probably committed suicide due to accumulation of debt."

"What exactly did you do to get interrogated the first time?" said Karasuba, suddenly realizing that Takami, despite the scolding, is once again a fly on the wall of her own interrogation. _Ha!_

"They thought I worked for the Russian Mafia. Which would make this the second time in one week I've been accused of being something I'm not."

"Oh, so you're saying that you're not trying to infiltrate MBI?" said Takami with a hint of suspicion, finally able to jump into the conversation.

"I'm a doctor, not a corporate spy." Karasuba couldn't help but be surprised by that. She wouldn't have pegged him for that profession. Guess he just has a horrible bedside manner. Before either of them could further ask questions, he decided to elaborate. "I attended Aichi Medical University for six years, obtaining my MD. After that, I worked at Fuyuki Hospital for three years, earning Residency before I joined Yoshiko Industries, a medical firm based in Fuyuki. From there I became a traveling physician, so I am sent wherever there are any vacancies that need filling. I was in the United States for eight months, France for ten months, and Russia for six. My next position is here in Shin Tokyo, at the Hiyamakai Hospital."

"Oh, so you can speak a foreign language? You must be able to speak French than," said Karasuba. Not that she thought he was lying, but it always good to be thorough. Besides, she always wanted to hear someone speaking French.

"Je sais que vous n'etes pas humain," Emiya-san said, of which she didn't understand a word of it. Well, it did sound foreign at least. Not quite as sexy sounding as she had been led to believe, but it could simply be his way of saying it. Takami, though, wasn't paying to much attention to this current piece of information, and has been typing on her touch screen laptop ever since he rattled off his medical service history. Takami narrowed her eyes at what she found.

"It says here that you were added into the Emiya household when you were six years old; why?" Takami said.

"I was adopted," he said, "I was rescued by my father, Emiya Kiritsugu, after the Fuyuki Fire twenty-one years ago. Due to the trauma of that event, I suffered from retrograde amnesia and thus had no memories before that event except for my first name. When no one came to claim me and everyone begin to assume my family died in the flames, Kiritsugu ended up adopting me as his son." Oh, so he's a survivor? Yes, that would go to some lengths to explain how he seems stronger than most humans. Admittedly, that's not saying much, and he's still too weak to be a threat to her, but it's good to know that improvement can be made with a strong enough… stimulus.

Takami frowned at what he said, typing in a few more things before finally saying, "Do you know the address that you lived at before the fire?"

"No," he said, obviously annoyed that Takami asked a question she knew he couldn't answer, "However, I'm quite certain that I was only a block away from ground zero." There was a pause due to more typing, before Takami said, "May I please see your passport to verify your identity?" He did just that, provoking a sigh from Takami.

"Karasuba; let him go." So he isn't a spy? They've been wasting there time interrogating someone for no reason. Great, now they're going to have to pay this guy hush money. It might be easier to just kill him. All it would take is an 'accidental' slip of her hand, and he would be on the ground, dying. She eventually relented however; Takami would undoubtedly blame her for the 'accident' and would probably order her to clean the blood off the floor, which can be a bitch to clean.

Speaking from experience here.

"Good to know that I've been cleared of these charges," Emiya-san said, "Though I am curious on what exact error caused all of this."

"Right, about that," said Takami, "Quite simply, these machines are still prototypes. As such, the testing database was still left on the machine, where we tested most of the researchers at MBI. The error code we registered you as a partial match for one of MBI's employees, and considering that employee has been dead for three years, you can understand our confusion." Even Karasuba raised an eyebrow at that. The only MBI employee that she knows died was Takehito Asama, and she doubts he would be the type to have a family. Nah, it's probably not him. Than who could it…?

"Partial match?" said Emiya-san, obviously confused, "wait, than that would mean…"

"That the MBI employee," said Takami, "a man by the name of Asama Takehito, is your biological father."

… Now that there's no more patience in Karasuba, the dead shall walk the Earth, and she shall search among the dead until she finds the ghost of Takehito and FUCKING MURDER IT! Bonus if #01 happens to see her do it, because she will no doubt pick a fight with Karasuba over mutilating his soul. Death and a battle, her two favorite things in the world.

"And what about my mother?" he said after a long moment of shocked silence.

"I'm sorry, but she's not on our records," said Takami, "so I can only assume that she had died in the same fire that you had survived." Emiya-san visible deflated at that. Learning the identity of one of your parents only to learn that both have been dead for years… nope, she doesn't know how that feels, nor will she ever know how that feels, nor will she care to know how that feels.

"However, I do know that he had remarried to a woman by the name of Asama Miya. I believe she still currently in Shin Tokyo." Karasuba barely resisted the urge to snort. It's not like #01 has any reason to leave the city. Indeed, she might not even be able to leave the city without a fight.

"I can give you her address if you are interested." Emiya-san seemed to ponder this for a few moments, before smiling, and saying, "I appreciate the offer but I'm going to have to decline." Takami blinked in surprise, evidently not expecting him to turn down her offer, so he elaborated. "The thing is, in my mind, Kiritsugu will always be my father. He is the only father I've ever had. By comparison, this Takehito-san is nothing more to me than just the man who was responsible for my birth. He's nothing more than a stranger to me, and so is his wife. Though I do admit having some interest in learning about him, I can't help but think that it might be a bit awkward for the son of his first wife to meet with his second wife; but thank you for the offer. Now, if you don't mind, am I allowed to leave?"

"Yes, you may go, and I apologize for the inconvenience," Takami said, standing up, "I need to go make a few phone calls, so you can show your own way out." And with that, Takami left the room, leaving only Karasuba and him.

"Well, I suppose it has been fun, Emiya-san," she said, sheathing her blade and sauntering towards the door before grumbling to herself, "I would have preferred to have a bit more fun, though."

Rejoice, #04 Karasuba, for your wish has been granted.

"Karasuba." said the voice from behind her, which sets alarms off in her head. She spun around, reaching for her sword, tilting her head to the left to dodge the thrown… dinner knife that came with his meal? At first she thought she had overreacted until she saw out of the corner of her eye the knife sinking into the wall all the way to the _hilt_. She drew her sword, though nowhere near as fast as she could have gone; it was still past the scopes of human speeds. After all, she'd rather not reveal her extraterrestrial origins; plus, she was still going fast enough to easily be able to subdue him before he is able to attack.

This is why it came as a great shock that she was barely able to draw her blade before he had bounded over the table and, while spinning to face her, kicked the sword out of her grasp and into the air. He than grabbed her, lifted her into the air, and smashed her down on to the table. While that would probably require quite a feat of strength (for a human), it's still not as shocking as what came before. After all, she's hardly heavy. Indeed, due to the disproportion of weight and power, half of most Sekirei battles are spent with one of the Sekirei flying through the air. Finally, holding her down with his left arm, he leapt on the table, straddled her, and plucked the sword out of the air, ending with her looking at the tip of her own sword inches away from her face.

"I do hope this has caught your attention," he said, "so listen up, because I want to make something quite clear." She was wrong; Emiya-kun has an excellent bedside manner! And, perhaps not surprisingly, she's starting to feel that tugging feeling in her chest…

It was at that moment that she upgraded him from infuriating specimen to possible opponent. Coincidentally, that was also when smitten upgraded to horny.

Really horny.

"I don't know exactly what you are, but I know you are not human, and I know that you think you can walk all over humanity like we are ants. You can not. We have ruled this planet for centuries, to the point where the very planet itself wants us dead. You push us, we will push you back, and if we push back, we will destroy you. You are not the first upstart creature who thinks they can challenge us and what the hell are you doing?"

In Karasuba's defense, she was listening to everything he said. Her mind just didn't bother to comprehend the words entering her ear, so they went out the other ear. Her brain was too busy thinking about more important things to focus on something so trivial.

After all, she still needs to figure out how to get him out of that suit quickly and efficiently. She could just simply rip it off, but he might not be too happy she destroyed what is obviously a very expensive suit, and a man not happy is a man not willing to use his sword. Conversely, she could simply divest him of the clothes slowly, but she doesn't have time for that. She wants to fuck him; she wants to fuck him now! After all, she simply needs to rip off her clothes and she's good to go. MBI has plenty of replacement clothes ready for her if these are damaged. Maybe that's the way out of this dilemma: promise to get him a replacement suit for him on the company's dime as recompense, than he might be (hopefully) willing to give her that duel whether his clothes are destroyed or not. Shouldn't be too hard to convince them to give her what she needs. All she needs to do is ask politely, in which she threatens employees with her sword until they give in. She's polite like that, not killing them over something this important.

Perfect, now she just needs ways to spice things up a bit. Karasuba has no doubt that the sword will be put to good use as a sex toy. She's always wanted to see a two sword style! Maybe if he allows her to leave first, she could go find a few corpses lying around and bring them here as decoration for the fucking room.

No, no, that's not a good idea. If she were to leave the room, Emiya-kun will definitely leave. After all, what reason would he have to stay? No, best that she doesn't leave. Guess she will have to make up for the lack of corpses with a vigorous duel. If the fucking room isn't completely destroyed, than she isn't doing her job right.

Also, she should avoid kissing him on the mouth. MBI wouldn't want that, and Emiya-kun especially wouldn't want that, so she should use her lips on other areas; but if she were to accidentally wing herself to him during their duel, oh well. It's not like it matters who her Ashikabi is, despite what that person believes, or rather because of what that person believes.

With her plan of action set, she went about enticing her opponent. She begin to wiggle sensuously on the table, with her arms raised over her head, her eyes giving him a 'come hither' look, a saucy smile spreading on her lips, and her hips gyrating against his. Emiya-kun seems to have taken notice, if his sudden change in tone is anything to go by.

He gives her an incredulous glare, his mouth slightly agape. Does… does he not find her to his liking? Does he only see her as an enemy to fight rather than an opponent to duel? He glances at her sword in his hand, looks back at her, and looks at her sword again before a realization seems to hit him. His eyes widen, his mouth dispenses with the 'slightly' part, and then he shudders.

… Of course he shudders. Why wouldn't he shudder?

That might not have been a shudder, though. What if that was a shiver? A shiver of anticipation? If that's the case…

_You mustn't miss this chance. You mustn't, you mustn't, you mustn't._

"Doctor," Karasuba said, "aren't you going to examine me? I've been such a naughty girl all day that I may have hurt myself." The response was immediate, as Emiya-kun immediately jumped off of her, his back to the door, clutching her sword in his hand like a lifeline, barely restrained panic in his eyes. A small part of her, a part not busy trying to fuck him, can't help but be amused that he can stare down a threat against his life without even flinching, but if a woman starts trying to seduce him, he panics.

She sits up, her legs crossed and her back arching seductively, her eyes fluttering closed, and said, "Doesn't the _big bad doctor _want to give me an injection? I'm a big girl, I can take it." _Heh, I'm starting to sound like Matsu._

…#02? Matsu, the Pervert? Why would she sound like the Pervert? Karasuba looked around in confusion, thinking back… _Fuck! What am I doing?_

Ironically, that thought perfectly encapsulates the answer.

Damn, this must be another symptom of The Smite. She was afraid her symptoms might worsen, but she didn't think it would progress this far this fast!

Thankfully, the new symptoms abruptly disappear just as suddenly as they had appeared. Karasuba glanced over to Emiya-kun, who is still pointing her sword at her, though this time with caution instead of panic. He seemed to have realized that The Smite has passed, because he lowered her sword, holding the handle towards her, and gave her an inquisitive look. She glared back at him.

"Right," he said with a nod, "Let us never speak of this again."

"If you do," Karasuba said, "Than I will cram my hand down your throat, rip your lungs out and shove it up your ass." He raised an eyebrow at her threat, before smirking and throwing her sword back to her, opening the door to leave the room. She easily caught the thrown sword and quickly sheathed it. She was about to leave as well when she paused. Despite The Smite induced embarrassments, she still hasn't forgotten the fact that she is reacting to him, and the knife buried into the wall is part of the reason.

Fact of the matter is that he had succeeded in disarming her and pinning her down. She was going easy on him, of course, and it would have been pathetically easy to escape, but that doesn't change the fact that he had even put her in that position. It suggests a level of combat experience one would not expect from a doctor.

She pulled the knife out of the wall. The knife, too, is of interest. Forgetting how accurate his knife throw was, there is no forgetting the sight of a supposedly dull knife sinking into the wall. Indeed, the knife isn't dull at all; it's sharp enough to be a scalpel. This makes Karasuba wonder how he could possible make this knife so sharp.

So many interesting questions about that man. He is someone to keep an eye on. Emiya-kun may even prove to be her Ashikabi.

She leaves the room, taking the knife with her. At the moment, though, she has a Dead Raising Machine to make. No doubt #02 could provide a great deal of assistance in this regard. Karasuba has the soul of Takehito to rise, and she will succeed. She has gone through enough humiliation and embarrassment because of The Smite. He will be paid ten fold for that and will go through so much pain and suffering that he will wish he were dead… again.

* * *

**Author's Note (...again): Strap in tight, because I have a lot of things to go over.**

**First off, I would like to make note that this is the first story I have ever posted on fanfiction (or, well, anywhere), so yay for me. In all truth, I've actually been done with this chapter for weeks now, but have held off on publishing it. The plan was to finish at least three chapters before publishing the first. That way, even if I fell behind my schedule (I originally planned to post a chapter every month), I would have a buffer zone and still have something to post.**

**After all, I am an avid Fanfiction reader, and know first hand the pain of waiting for an excellent piece to update, especially when I don't know when the next chapter will be ready. I wanted to alleviate the worry of not knowing when. You'll still have to wait, sure, but at least there would be a deadline.**

**Yeah,that plan kind of fell through. So, on behalf of all fanfiction writers who had to deal with impatient fans, I apologize: writing for fun AND on a strict schedule is fucking hard. As such, I've jumped to plan B: post my first chapter, and wait for the yammering of reviewing fans to kick by ass into gear.**

**I would like to note, though, that I'm already halfway through Chapter 2, though I don't know when it'll be finished. Rejoice, though, for when it is finished,you will have plenty to read.**

**Secondly, I would like the talk about the inspiration of In Flight for a second. When I say I was inspired, I meant that this story came about to correct what I felt to be issues in that story. Now, don't get me wrong, In Flight is a great read, but it also suffers from what I like to call the Signs effect: something so well written (or acted, or directed, etc etc) that it is able to cover some flaws in the story. I walked away from the movie Signs loving it, only to realize a few hours later the shear stupidity of aliens weak to water attacking a world 70% water! While none of the flaws in In Flight are quite as egregious, it was still noticeable enough that I have a hard time reading it again.**

**Thus I have written this, and will periodically take note of what I believe to be flaws in In Flight (though you are welcome to disagree) and what I have done to fix it.**

**With that out of the way, let's get to notes about the story itself.**

**I would like to first take note of the admittedly cliche (at least for this crossover) opening of "Shirou sets off MBI machine and gets interrogated". I suck when it comes to beginning my stories, and it usually takes some time for me to get a head of steam, as such, I went with the easiest way to begin the story as I could, and build things from there. I like to think it worked out rather well, though I would like to hear your input.**

**Secondly, the flashback, I will be using flashbacks extensively in this story. For those of you who do not like flashbacks, this story is not for you.**

**Next, Takami; she will have a minimal influence on this story. This is one of my complaints of In Flight: Takami is basically just a plot device used to keep Shirou in the city. other than that, she had barely any bearing on the plot. **

**Plus, it gave me a chance to set up interesting ideas when it comes to Shirou and Miya's relationship. In all truth, I don't know where to go with that, so I welcome ideas on the subject.**

**And I just want to get this out of the way: yes, Minato is in this story.**

**Just to show my hypocrisy, my next subject will be about Shirou's profession. In all truth, I only plan on using it for one plot point. As such, ideas on how to use his medical degree are welcome!**

**I would also like to make a brief mention of the Smite of Karasuba: yes, there is a reason for it, no, she is not the only Sekirei that will react in that manner.**

**One other thing should be pointed out: if you haven't noticed, I'm a wordy bastard. As such, if you don't feel like wasting your time reading my notes, than feel free to ignore them. Just know that any questions answered in them you ask I will ignore, since,you know,I already answered them.**

**Review, Review, Review; flattery disguised as reviews are acceptable, though I would prefer constructive criticism that would improve my writing. If you must however, who am I to say no?**

**I will close this extremely long notes section with a possible plot idea I thought of. I'm not usually one to write more than one story at a time, so perhaps someone else can make use of it:**

_Yume and Karasuba, the only two members of the Second Disciplinary Squad, are called in to help save the lives of kidnapped feathers. Only to get unexpected assistance from a certain red haired youth..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei or Fate/stay Night. If I did, than they would both be 50 times more awesome, making Sekirei barely above average while Fate/stay Night would blow up the planet from pure awesomeness!**

** Author's Note: Iiiiii'mmmmmmmmm Baaaaaaaack! Do apologize for the delay. The reason why is mentioned in my profile, but in case you haven't read it, I will sum up my reasons in three sentences: Tone of beginning inconsistent with planned ending. Considered retooling the story. Plan on releasing two chapters of retooled version to compare with this version. In other words, I'm going to let you decide what type of story I'll write. The one you chose to vote against I will stop writing, more than likely indefinitely.**

**Also, in case anyone hasn't noticed, I've added a Humor tag to the genre. It was not my intention to make the story so damn funny, but I'm willing to go with the flow in that regard. People have also said that it is turning out kind of crackish. Don't see it personally, but again, I'm willing to go with the flow. As long as you like, it can be whatever you think it to be.**

**I'm also going to say this once more for clarity: Shirou is OOC; indeed, he seems even more OOC in this chapter than he did in the last chapter. If you still don't realize that despite me putting it in the summary and the author's notes of both chapters, and decide to complain to me, I will ignore you because you're a moron who apparently can't read (which would make me wonder why you're even on this site).**

**Now than, I would like to go to the business of The Smite. A number of people seem to think The Smite is referring to Karasuba reacting to him. It is not; it in fact has nothing to do with reacting, even if the symptoms (for lack of a better word) are similar. Originally, I was going to hold of on explaining what it is, seeing as it was going to be explained in chapter 4 (assuming there is a chapter 4) anyway. However, since the explanation involves Nasuverse mechanics, I thought it best to write the explanation here to see how plausible it is, and to make some changes as necessary. I might never end up using the imput depending on which story you would prefer I do, but until noted otherwise, I will assume that this story is going to be continued.**

**Anyways, here is the explanation: Sekirei have a way of passively absorbing mana form the air, where the Sekirei core is used to convert it into something that the Sekirei can use. This is how they are able to use their abilities. The norito briefly changes their physiology so that they absorb (and thus convert) mana at a faster rate. It should be noted that even during norito, Sekirei use a lot less mana than any human magi can. Sekirei just happen to be more fuel efficient, so to speak, so the effect on the world's supply of mana is quite minimal. The Sekirei use so little mana that they verge on using The First True Magic. **

**Let's talk briefly about prana now. Prana is the mana and/or od converted by a magi's magic circuits. So magi absorb mana or just use their od to create prana. Any prana not used is released into the world, where it is converted back into life force (which is what mana and od fundamentally are).This process is called "evaporation". The difference between od and mana is that mana is created from the planet while od is created from the body of the magi. Thus, od is the life energy of a person or animal, while mana is the life energy of the planet. If od were to enter the system of a Sekirei, the core will convert just like mana. **

**The difference, however, is that converted od has the effect of an aphrodisiac on a Sekirei. Lower doses make them see anyone of a compatible gender (if homo, other women; if hetero, men; if bi, basically everyone) as being much more handsome than they really are. In higher doses (like when someone who uses od exclusively, say Shirou, has his circuits on full blast) they become really, really horny. It should be noted that there is nothing special about Shirou other than the fact that he uses od exclusively. If Aoko (who also uses od exclusively) were to walk into a room with her circuits on full blast... well, she'll probably end up in a lot of lesbian three ways (or four ways, or five ways, or 108 ways). It also should be noted that a Sekirei can build up an immunity to this effect, just like any other drug. **

**Now, you might be wondering, "hey, wait a minute, Shirou only activated his circuits at the tail end of his meeting with Karasuba and Takami, so why was she already under his effects?" Well, even when magic circuits aren't activated, it's still converting small amounts of od, which is than released into the world. The converted amount is so small that the circuits replenish it just as quickly as it is being used, so the magi doesn't even notice.**

**I would like to make a note of the difference between this and reacting. The difference can be summed up as the difference between the physical lusting and emotion lusting (aka love). Where with "smiting", the response the body has to converted od effects the mind, with reacting, it's the opposite: when they react, a tenuous psychic link is established, allowing the Sekirei to read the person's emotions and thoughts. When winged,the link is solidified, allowing this effect to be a two way street: both sides can read each other's thoughts and emotions. In essence, reacting is when the response of the mind effects the body.**

**In closing all of this, I would like to make one last note: yes, Miya can also end up under the effects of The Smite. Tremble in despair, Shirou, for the end of days shall come when that happens.**

**So, what do you all (mostly Nasuverse fans who would have some idea what I'm talking about) think? Seem reasonable? Please inform me if it isn't.**

**After all that, I think it is time I you get to read some of the actual story, so let's get it on.**

* * *

**Chapter Two: First rule of the Sekirei Plan: you do not talk about the Sekirei Plan**

Uzume cannot believe how much humiliation and embarrassment she has gone through because of The Incident. Admittedly, she would pay this ten fold if it meant that Chiho would not have to go through so much pain and suffering. If Uzume were in her position, she would already wish she were dead.

But Uzume is not in her position, she is in a completely different position on top of a comatose patient she fell on. A position that was immediately caught by a red haired doctor who decided to walk in and turn on the lights that exact moment. Either she is in some kind of zany comedy (probably a romantic one… ooh, maybe this is the first steps towards a harem comedy) or fate is just screwing with her.

Than again, if it were the fault of fate, she would have also accidentally kissed the man. Not that she doesn't have anything against men, but dude, he's in a coma!

What is obviously responsible for her current woes is that damn sun deciding to set at the same exact time as every other day. She's a reacting Sekirei who wishes to meet her dying possible-maybe-not-sure-may-not-be-worth-having-only-a-year-long-forever-and-ever Ashikabi. The least the sun can do is break the laws of physics and not start to set at 5:00 PM.

No, it's definitely the buildings fault. All it had to do was turn around to face the sun so that the second floor room she climbed in through wasn't in the shadows. She's pretty sure buildings do this all the time. Or maybe the rooms could have had the decency to rearrange themselves so that they were facing the sun. Uzume is sure no one would notice.

In fact, this is definitely the rooms fault. All the darkness had to do was take a smoke break. The thing that she tripped on could have just gotten out of her way. Her feet could have been so kind as to say, "My lady, I would suggest you step to the side or you might go through an incident of embarrassment and humiliation." Hell, why didn't gravity just take the day off?

But noooooo, they had to do there jobs correctly. All she wanted was for reality to bend backwards for her. Is that too hard to ask?

And what is the doctor doing here, anyways? She took the time to check the schedules yesterday, and was pretty sure that no doctors were supposed to show up at this room at this time. Uzume supposes she shouldn't be surprised, though, that this is the one thing that doesn't run on schedule. But still, couldn't he have been off schedule on another day?

Great, now she's going to have to find a way of dealing with him before things go from bad to worse. To that end, she has a few options she could take.

First off, she could simply kill him. It should be easy to do: create some linen strips, wrap him up with them, and break his neck. Bada bing bada boom, she would have solved this problem. Of course, she would probably have to discreetly dump his body in the morgue. She would have to keep this from Chiho, because someone so pure should never have to deal with such brutality. There is the emotional problem of having to deal with the guilt for the rest of her life (which is more than likely going to be about a year). There is also the ethical problem pertaining that she will never condone the use of murder, and if it were up to her, she would never get her hands bloody.

Plus, it must be a crime against nature to kill someone so _hawt_. Especially those dreamy golden eyes. She guesses gold is now her new favorite color.

So murder is off the table, if it were ever on the table at all. Her second option would be to bribe him. She is sure she has plenty of things she could… never mind, bribing is off the table too.

So Uzume guesses that she will have to go with her third option: talk him out of telling anyone else. She has been told that she has a very smooth tongue and is easy to get along with, after all. These reports are unfortunately unsubstantiated, but they are about to be put to the test now. She just as to find the perfect words to allay his fears.

"It's not what it looks like," Uzume said. Hm, the classic approach; interesting choice. The doctor gives a brief look around the room before he replied.

"So you didn't come in through that open window over there, fumbled around in the dark for a while before tripping over the bump in the floor over here and falling on top of the patient?"

"… It's exactly what it looks like." He smiled at her reply before giving her an expectant look. So much for that smooth tongue of hers. She guesses he already wants the hush money or hush whatever-he-has-in-mind. Question is, what to give him? He coughs into his hand, giving her another expectant look, but he hasn't extended his hand in any way, which is usually the wordless gesture for 'offer me something'. So he's expecting something. What exactly does he want, than?

The confusion must be clearly written on her face, because he gives her an exasperated roll of his eyes, and says, clearly resisting the urge to palm his face, "While I'm sure he probably wouldn't have many complaints about your current setup, perhaps it would be best for you to stop cuddling him." He gives her a sly look. "Unless of course you're planning to wait for him to wake up so he can give you a tip."

… Oh right, she almost forgot she was currently lying atop someone. Odd thing to forget, too considering that was the reason why she was expecting him to try to get her to offer a bribe. For some reason, there is a certain magnetism to the man that makes it hard to concentrate on anything else when he is in the room. Maybe it's the exotic hair and eyes, or maybe it's the gaze: friendly with a hint of steel in it. Maybe it is simply because he seems out of place while somehow fitting perfectly in his surroundings.

Whatever the case may be, Uzume is not one to turn down providence. From the way things are going, she may be able to get out of this without having to resort to bribery. The first step towards that is to comply with his request, and so she does, giving him a guilty look.

With a nod, he walks past the bed towards the open window, saying, "May I ask what you are doing here?" Honesty would be the best policy in this case.

"I came here to see a friend." Well, partial honesty would be the best policy. Uzume wanted to leave out the fact that she is an alien participating in something called the Sekirei Plan and that the woman she has come to meet she might chose as her Ashikabi.

In all truth, she would have already winged herself to Chiho if it weren't for a simple problem: Chiho's dying. The idea of having to watch someone she love wither and die in front of her is not a pleasant thought. She had asked for help from Miya in this predicament, and her advice was to learn as much about Chiho as possible and that the right choice would make itself apparent. Which is why she is currently here, having accidentally cuddled with the wrong person (not that she was planning on cuddling with Chiho… honest) and talking with the person who walked in on it.

"You do realize that there is this new invention known as the front door?" he said, closing the window. "It's a marvelous contraption that is taking the world by storm and is going to revolutionize how we enter buildings. Soon entering through a window will become obsolete." _Is he mocking me? I think he's mocking me. _Hard to tell with the tone of the voice. Maybe ribbing is a better word choice.

"I was trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible." Uzume said, prompting him to raise an eyebrow and glance out the window. Oh, right, they're on the _second _floor. While it is child's play for a Sekirei to reach this height with a single hop, the same doesn't apply to humans.

"Heh, maybe I didn't think that through," Uzume said.

"Clearly," he said with a smile, "You would think the media would be here, though. A beautiful woman scaling the wall of a hospital is bound to catch someone's attention." He paused in thought. "Than again, with the amount of beautiful women in this city, perhaps something like that is a common occurrence." Uzume couldn't help but wince at that statement. He is probably referring to the influx of Sekirei present, seeing as there are 108 of them, that all but a handful are women, and that all of them are beautiful (even the Black Sekirei has a certain charm to her). She supposes it shouldn't be a huge surprise that someone has taken notice. She also shouldn't be surprised about that someone happening to be male.

"Well, you obviously live on the other side of the city," Uzume said with a playful grin, "On our side, beautiful women like me scale walls all the time. It's sort of a competition." Which is actually an accurate statement on what is going on: since most of the fights happen on rooftops, Sekirei end up scaling walls all the time, and one could say the Sekirei Plan is a sort of competition, albeit more violent than most.

"Is it also a part of the competition to jump on top of random strangers?" He said with the raise of an eyebrow, glancing at the comatose man. Uzume is amused to note that the answer to that question would be 'yes'. Sekirei do not need to interact with a person to react to them. This is due to the fact that all Sekirei are at least somewhat psychic, and sometimes only require them to meet the person to know that they're reacting. Some are strong enough to react to a person miles away. That is not to say that interaction doesn't help, and in fact for those that have weaker psychic abilities, it is almost a must. Regardless, almost all Sekirei end up reacting to complete strangers, and usually their first thought when reacting is to basically jump them on the spot. Most are usually discreet enough to wait until they're at the Ashikabi's place before jumping them, though.

… Which, come to think of it, probably gives most Ashikabi the first impression that the Sekirei is some kind of hooker; a Sekirei's usually choice in clothing probably doesn't help in that matter.

"Looks like you caught us, bro!" Said Uzume with a laugh, "We beautiful women are a wily folk."

"Well, if that is the case, I can safely say I've not been molested yet," he said, "Though admittedly I'm rather new here."

"Oh; so you moved to Shin Tokyo recently, than?"

"Three days ago. I was given the weekend off, so this is my first day working here." That would explain why he wasn't on the schedule. "If you don't mind me asking, who exactly did you plan on seeing?"

"Well…" Uzume said, hesitating briefly. She finally decided that there would be little harm telling this man. "I'm here to visit one of the patients, Chiho Hidaka." He gave a silent "ah", his eyes closing briefly with a sad smile on his lips.

"The girl whose been suffering from Systematic Lupus Erythematosus." Systematic whatsit what what? Uzume can only assume he is talking about the disease poor Chiho is dying from. He could have simply gone with "Moe Disease", though.

"So are you her doctor, than?" she said.

"No, but the nurses here speak of her often." He said, "They say that she is the sweetest girl one could meet." He glanced over to her, giving her a thoughtful look. If Uzume had to guess, he was analyzing her in an attempt to discern her relationship to Chiho. Technically, Uzume doesn't have a relationship to her, as they have only met yesterday and she hasn't yet chosen Chiho to be her Ashikabi. He doesn't need to know that, though.

After a long moment of him just looking at her, he finally gave her a smile, causing her to release the breath of air she didn't realize she was holding. Looks like she was met with his approval. He checked his watch.

"It's a good thing you came here after five, or I would have had to report you," he said, a sly grin appearing on his face, "Thankfully for you, though, I'm off the clock."

"So does this mean you're going to let me see her?" Uzume said, trying not to sound hopeful. Maybe she does have a silver tongue!

"Yes," he said, opening the door for her. She stepped out with him following behind her. He closed the door before adding, "But only if I'm in the room when you two meet." Ah, so he's afraid that she would try to do something… less than reputable. Whether he is expecting her to murder Chiho or have sex with her is up to debate. Than again, considering her frailty, those two options are basically one and the same.

"Heh, so you want to sit in on our girl talk?" Uzume said, "Whatever floats your boat." He raised an eyebrow before saying, "You and I have a very different definition of girl talk." Proof positive of his intentions.

"So would this be your first time trying to sneak into a hospital?" he added. This elicited an aggravated sigh from her before she said, "Yes."

"Would explain why your sneaking abilities could use some work," he said with a nod.

"Tell me about it," Uzume said with a snort, "I've got rotten luck."

"I take it this is a common occurrence?" _Most definitely. _Seems like every other day that her luck screws her over.

"Think of it this way," Uzume said, "My luck is so rotten that it's been thrown in jail."

"That is rotten luck," he said, nodding in agreement, "You sure your luck isn't so rotten that even lawyers would vomit in disgust?"

"That is rotten luck, but no. My luck is so rotten that when a homicidal maniac walked up to it and had a conversation, he left thinking, 'that things crazy'."

"That… is rotten luck. Your luck and mine would probably get along quite well."

"Oh, so your luck is terrible, too, bro?"

"It's not terrible, it's dead," he said with a chuckle, "The only thing that would willingly keep the company of luck that rotten would be a corpse."

"Why is that?"

"Oh, well, since even lawyers wouldn't want to keep your rotten luck company, than obviously nothing living…"

"No, no, no," Uzume said, cutting him off and resisting the urge, unsuccessfully, to laugh, "I meant why do you believe your luck's dead?"

"Well it must be dead if I've been interrogated twice within the same week for something I didn't even do." This time she didn't bother resisting.

"Really; why?"

"Well, the first were the Russian police who thought I worked for the Russian Mafia. The second believed I was attempting corporate espionage so I can steal all there secrets." This prompted her to laugh even harder.

"Maybe I shouldn't… trust you," Uzume said between the bouts of laughter, "After all, a member of the Russian Mafia turned corporate must be rotten to the core."

"Yes, yes, laugh it up."

"So which company did you try to infiltrate?"

"MBI." His nonchalant answer caused her to trip and nearly face plant on the ground. What the hell reason would MBI have to think that he is a corporate spy? Worse, if he was interrogated by MBI, than that would mean that the Black Sekirei must have interrogated him personally. While officially whoever they choose to be Ashikabi for the Disciplinary Squad is going to be leader, unofficially Karasuba is the leader due to being the oldest, most experienced, and someone who never takes orders from anyone, only requests. As such, for official MBI business that doesn't involve the Sekirei Plan in any way, she is usually the first one "requested" to help, something that, in this case, she would have little reason to turn down due to getting a chance to be her usual sadistic self. In truth, it is somewhat miraculous that he had escaped without injury, though the fact that he wasn't trying to do what they accused him of doing may have something to do with that. Still, she decided to surreptitiously scan him for wounds, partially because of human decency (or would that be Sekirei decency?), partially because no one should have to go through whatever MBI's Dog put him through, but mostly because she rather likes him. He's nice and easy to talk to and she is quite partial to the hair. It's too bad more people don't have red hair, it's a nice look.

"Are you okay?" he said, looking at her still recovering form with concern.

"Nah, don't worry about it; it's just my feet rebelling against me again."

"Might want to get that checked out. We're in a hospital after all."

"Oh, I don't think I need to worry about that," Uzume said, putting a bounce in her step to draw his attention to certain… assets. "I've been told that I'm healthy as an ox." He gave a brief glance at what she was displaying before saying, "Perhaps a bit too healthy."

…Huh? The confusion must be clearly seen on her face, because he elaborated. "I'm just thinking you might want to look into breast reduction surgery. Those are going to lead to some back issues in the future."

…He can't be human. He must be some kind of robot. A robot sent by aliens to study the weird shit humans do. He's probably filing what Uzume just did under, '_bouncing things on chest: Any significance? Study unusual behavior later.' _Well, either that or…

"Are you gay?" Uzume said.

"…No," he replied, obviously taken off guard by her sudden question, "not the last time I checked, anyway."

"…Are you sure?"

"There are a couple of women that can second my opinion on this matter, so yes, I'm sure." Is it just her, or did she hear a "loudly" somewhere in that sentence? Still, if a few women are willing to second him, than he probably is into women. Unless…

"You sure you're not just in denial? That you only let them strangle your dragon to reaffirm your heterosexuality?"

"Strangle my drag… What?"

'You know, slide up and down your pole? Chow down on your plump hot dog? Have space engulf your ascending rocket? Open the tunnel up for your train? Have the alligator…"

"If you even think about finishing that sentence, I'm going to sue you for causing a mental breakdown," he said.

"And no, I did not have sex," he added, eliciting an over-the -top gasp (complete with back of the hand to the forehead and over the mouth) due to saying the s-word, "just to 'reaffirm my heterosexuality'."

"But how can you be sure?" she said, to his increasing irritation, "I can go find a smoking hot man to attempt to entice you with." It of course never crossed her mind that if she succeeds in what she's planning to do, she would be a pimp; nor the fact that a certain Sekirei she lives with would fit her description rather well. Perfectly, in fact.

"That is not necessary," was his increasingly irate reply, something she completely overlooked due to being on a roll.

"You won't know until you try."

"Trust me, I know."

"Well, fine, but there must be some way to know for sure, like gaydar or something."

"That. Is not. Necessary."

"Oh, I know; did you enjoy it, because if you didn't, than that means…"

"Will you please stop!?" he said, cutting her off. Silence engulfed the two as they stopped walking, the man rubbing his temples and clearly trying to calm down. She felt a prick of guilt: she might have taken that a bit too far. She should make it up to him.

"I'm sorry, bro," Uzume said, "I didn't mean to be so rude."

"There's no need to apologize," he said, having obviously calmed down, "You were just showing concern for my manliness. It's what anyone would have done in your position." She snorted in amusement. "I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have snapped at you." He bowed to her. "Please forgive me." While admittedly the formality seems a bit unnecessary to her, it is good to know that this man is both polite and nice.

"All's forgiven, bro," Uzume said, not really seeing any reason why he would need to apologize (it was her fault for ignoring the signs that he didn't want to talk about it, after all), but seeing even less reason to argue with him over it. He straightened back up to his full height, and damn he's tall! How the hell did she overlook something like that? They continued walking; a rather pleasant silence engulfed them before he decided to speak again.

"Just for your information, I know for a fact that a man would not entice me due to the fact I've seen one naked. If he couldn't entice me, no man ever will."

"Why would you be with a naked guy?" Uzume asked, perplexed. _Oh wait, doctor. Never mind. _She was about to answer her own question but he answered instead.

"We were both waiting for the same person. We ended up playing a card game while we waited for her." Okay, maybe it isn't in reference to doctorly stuff…wait a minute. Two men, one very easy on the eyes and the other assumed to be on that level, both waiting for a woman with one of them already naked. Hm, sounds like something out of a wet dream… WAIT A MINUTE…

"Are you saying you had a three way?" Uzume blurted, this time causing him to stumble.

"No, technically I didn't have a three way." He said. It took them both a moment to realize a certain word in that sentence that implied the opposite.

"You did have a three way!"

"Technically, a three way would consist of all three participants having physical relations with each other. In this case we merely double-teamed her… so to speak."

"Oh, I'm sure she wasn't doing any speaking after that," Uzume said, "she was probably a bit hoarse, when all was said and done."

"Speaking from experience?" He said with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Well… I guess I'm not one to talk."

"Right," he said with a smile, "so who are you to speak of such things?"

"Well, you'll see," she said, "Soon, I'll know everything one can learn about that."

"Good to know you have your priorities straight," he said with an amused snort.

"Hey, that was uncalled for, bro."

"So says the woman who just made a pledge to go on a splurge of sex," he said, eliciting another exaggerated gasp from Uzume. He rolled his eyes at her, visibly resisting the urge to smile, and said, "Oh, grow up."

_ Never!_

"It also doesn't help your case," he added, "That you've made this declaration to a complete stranger you have just met."

"Hey, you're the one who started it!" Uzume said, prompting him to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Really; you're going to start playing the blame game?

"Hey, blame is not a game."

"It is the way you used it.

"…Oh, fine; I retract my statement of blame."

"Why thank you," he said with a smile, "That was very considerate of you."

"Oh, bite me."

"I'm a doctor, not a cannibal," he said with a roll of his eyes. Well, technically, that wouldn't be cannibalism.

Silence engulfed them as they continued to walk at a leisurely pace. Speaking of walking, could she have picked a window further away from Chiho's room? How long have they been walking anyways?

"…So," Uzume finally said.

"So?"

"…So about that double team." He gave her a bemused look.

"Are we still talking about that?"

"Sure, why not? Anyway, the person you double teamed: was she your girlfriend?"

"Well, she's a woman and she's a friend, but no, she's not my girlfriend."

"Oh, I get the feel that your girlfriend was not happy about that."

"No," he said after a pause, a sad smile on his face, "she probably wouldn't have been. She didn't really like sharing." The next words he said under his breath, so low that only he should have heard it. Only he if she wasn't a Sekirei with enhanced abilities, anyway. "Not that she hadn't once." She resisted the urge to gape at him.

She failed.

"You've had two three ways?"

"Two three ways? Where did you get that idea from?"

"I just heard you say you've had another."

"Heard me?" he said to himself, before giving her a thoughtful look. "How acute is your hearing?"

"Don't change the subject. I want to know more about this. Specifically, how many more of them have you done?" Internally, Uzume winced at how rude she was once again being, but this is prime teasing material. You only get material like this once in a lifetime. This could be the milestone of her teasing career.

For his part, the man doesn't seem to mind her tone of voice. In fact, if she had to guess, he was more concerned in discovering how to get out of this topic as quickly as humanly possible. His eyes darted to one of the doors, and he suddenly said, "WellwhatdoyouknowweseemtohavereachedHidaka-san'sroom let'scontinuethisconversation never." He than opened the door before she had a chance to response. Damn, it looks like checkmate for her. There is no way she is bringing up three ways in front of Chiho, the girl who is too sick to take part in any type of physical activity, up to and including sex. Just the thought of all the things that she had lost because of that disease saddens her, but Uzume is determined to not let it be seen on her face. Even though Chiho is not her Ashikabi, seeing her happy always brightened Uzume's own mood.

_Don't think that this is over, though, _she thought. Eventually, she will learn the rest of his story. Nothing will stop her from getting more teasing material. Nothing!

They both walked through the door to see Chiho, sound asleep, and in Uzume's opinion, as beautiful as ever despite the illness. It must be the way her golden hair is splayed on the pillow. Of course, this could simply be her reaction talking, but she doesn't think so; Chiho looked just as beautiful the first time they met before she was reacting.

"Are you alright?" she heard him say, pulling her thoughts back to him, only to see him peer at her with concern. Why would he be…?

Ah, the reaction. She almost forgot that the reaction has physiological effects (red in the face from blushing, shortness of breath, the undeniable urge to hop on top of your possible destined ones) that to a doctor would suggest some sort of illness; plus the subtle tugging feeling in the chest.

"No, I'm alright," Uzume replied, "I'm just excited to see her again." Probably the closest thing to the truth she will ever get in this regard. He paused to study her face for a moment before nodding slightly to himself, saying, "If you don't mind, than, I'll wake her up for you." He approached the bed, kneeling down on one knee, and gently grasping both sides of her shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Hidaka-san, can you please wake up. I brought someone here to see you." Chiho's murmurs of protest from being awakened from what was probably a restful sleep were the cutest thing Uzume had ever heard. Chiho's eyes flickered open, looking right at the smiling face of the man. "Good afternoon, Hidaka-san. I hope I didn't interrupt any good dreams."

"A-ano, h-hello," Chiho said. Heh, she knows those symptoms. Good to know she's not the only one who thinks he's hawt.

"I brought someone here who wanted to see you," he said.

"You did?" said Chiho, still trying to shake off the vestiges of sleep, "Who?" His smile widened, and that was Uzume's only warning that she was about to get her comeuppance. Well, that and the overly cheerful tone of voice. "Why, your lesbian lover, of course!"

"What?!" both she and Chiho exclaimed, shocking Chiho into full wakefulness, and, if he hadn't still been grasping her shoulders, causing her to sit up. He let go of her shoulders to let her get a good look at Uzume.

"Uzume-san?" Chiho said with surprise and an undercurrent of happiness that elicited a tingly feeling up her spine.

"You are a very lucky woman to have caught such a fine person, Hidaka-san," he said, completely ignoring there reactions. He leans in towards Chiho conspiratorially and says in a whisper and with one hand "shielding" his mouth from sight, "Never let her go." He, of course, must have known that Uzume heard him perfectly.

"She isn't…" said Uzume, but wasn't able to finish the sentence from pure embarrassment.

"She's not…" said Chiho at about the same time, also suffering from embarrassment overload. She also looks on the verge of hiding herself behind the blankets.

"We're not like that!" They both blurted out. He raised an eyebrow at their outburst, but his smile never faded.

"Oh, you two don't need to be coy with me. I have no problem with something like this. Free love all the way; if you love someone, you love someone! Gender should never be an issue."

"But I don't love Uzume-san; I just met her," Chiho said, "And I definitely haven't thought about undressing her!" _Oh, Chiho. Oh, my poor poor Chiho. _He didn't verbally respond, but merely gave her a look. It took her a moment to process what she said, but when she did, she gave a squeak, sounding not unlike that of a mouse, and hid herself underneath the blankets. He gave an "ah" of realization before saying, "I get it now: you haven't come out yet; but you can't stay cooped up in that closet forever. You have to spread your wings and fly!" How unintentionally close to the issue of the matter he was (with the mention of wings and whatnot) made her wince. Well, that and the realization that she may have awakened a dragon; A teasing dragon. In her defense, how could she have known that such an unassuming and polite guy was in fact the king of teasing?

"I should know," he said, "A girlfriend of mine didn't want to admit she was bisexual, but I didn't have any issues with that. She chose me and that's all that matters." Not exactly a fair comparison. After all, what man wouldn't be happy that a woman swings both ways? Especially if that woman happens to know other women with similar sentiments.

"But if you're worried about her commitment, don't be. You're not going to find a more committed person than her." Wait, what? Is she being brought back into the discussion? Does he, in fact, plan on teasing her some more?

… Fuuuuuu-

"I won't?" Chiho said, still hiding all but her eyes from him behind the blanket, but noticeably relaxing now that his focus has shifted.

Traitor.

"Oh, yeah; when she first came here, no one would let her see you. It got to the point where some guards had to drag her out. As they were doing it, she was shouting at the top of her lungs, 'Give me Chiho or give me death!'" This elicited a giggle from Chiho. Under normal circumstances, Uzume would protest such blatant exaggerations (as if the guards could drag her out), but she is willing to let them go due to making Chiho laugh.

"But something like hulking guards wasn't going to stop her from seeing you. So with the Power of Love by her side, she was able to scale the walls of the hospital to reach the second floor." _Oh, you sly son of a bitch._ By exaggerating everything out of proportions, he's basically leading her to assume that he is lying. Granted, if (when) she winged her, she would have to tell Chiho of her origins, but the thought is still appreciated. Plus, she doesn't want Chiho to worry about such a "stunt".

"And when she had ran into me, and realizing that I was about to inform the guards, she gave an impassioned speech about how you were her true love and of how love conquered all that reawakened my faith in love. Driven by passion, I had to reunite you two once again!"

"Oh, Uzume-san, you didn't have to go so far for little old me," said Chiho. Yep, she definitely didn't take him seriously.

"It's the Power of Love. If someone truly loves you, they could climb mountains." He clasped his hands in front of him, tilting his head, and gave a dreamy sigh. "If only I could be swept off my feet like that."

…HOW IS HE NOT GAY? Also, something about his body language and words seem rather familiar to her, but she can't seem to place it…

"To have someone willing to fight past guards, climb walls, risk injury and possible even death just to see the one they love; it's so romantic!" Oh. My. God. HE'S FUCKING KAZEHANA… as in he currently sounds just like Kazehana. Not that he isn't _fucking_ Kazehana, but if he were, than that would make him an Ashikabi, and he seemed to be unaware of Sekirei, so that seems unlikely. Unless he found a way to have sex without kissing on the lips…

"But in all seriousness," he said, returning to his usual tone of voice and dropping his hands, "She has gone through a few difficulties just to meet you again, so I hope you are especially nice to her."

"Yes, Sensei… um…" Chiho said, trailing off when she realized she didn't know his name. Which, come to think of it, was something Uzume didn't know either.

"Oh my, how rude of me," he said, chuckling to himself, "All that time and I forgot to tell you my name." He bowed to them. "I am Emiya Shirou."

* * *

The three of them ended up chatting for about an hour. Uzume learned a great deal more about Chiho's childhood; plus she learned that Chiho seems to also swing both ways, as she clearly had a crush on Shirou. Not that she could blame her; the man is quite charming. He himself admitted he has no idea why women find him so irresistible, though she's more baffled that he can charm women so easily without even trying.

Maybe it's some type of pheromone he's emitting.

"That was not funny," she said the moment he closed the door to Chiho's room.

"Maybe not for you, but I found it to be immensely amusing," he said, "Besides, turnaround is fair play, and payback is a bitch." Knowing her luck, payback is probably on intimate terms with it.

"One of these days, things will turn again, and when they do, the doves shall feast." He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Wouldn't crows be more appropriate for that statement?"

"I like doves better," she said. Plus, she doesn't want to associate in any way with the Black Sekirei.

"You seem to also be implying that I'm going to see you again."

"Well… won't you?" She said. She must admit that she hopes that he does decide to continue sitting in on her visits with Chiho. This is partially because Chiho obviously likes him, partially because Chiho doesn't seem to get many visits from friends, and partially because she also rather enjoys his company, though whether it is because of pheromones is still up to debate.

After pondering his decision for a few moments, he finally said, "I don't see why not. How often will you be coming around?"

"Every single day, unless there is a reason I can't."

"That should be easy to remember."

"Meet at the same place?"

"You can just go through the front door. I should be able to get you in."

"You know," Uzume said with a slow nod as if she were thinking about something, "I have heard such great things about the front door. Maybe I will try it out."

"Like I said," Shirou said with a smile, "It's the wave of the future." She snorted in amusement, before raising one hand to shake with, saying, "So, see you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here," he said, and than he shook her hand. The moment there skin touched, her hand was hit with what felt like an electric shock, causing her to recoil. He must have felt the same thing, given his reaction was identical.

_What was that? _She thought, but quickly dismissed that thought for a more important realization. She feels a tugging in her chest, which is one of the signs of reacting; but reactions only make themselves known when in visual contact with your destined one, and since Chiho is on the other side of the door…

_ No, nonononono, that's impossible. I'm reacting to Shirou. How am I reacting to two people?_

"The static had one hell of a kick that time," he said, shaking his hand as if it were numb. When she didn't reply, he looked up at her and, frowning, took a few steps closer. "Are you sure you're alright? Your symptoms seem to be worsening." Ironically, it's the fact that he is standing so close to her, and with the back of his hand on her forehead checking for a fever, that is making said symptoms worse. As is, it is taking all her will power not to kiss him.

"I'm alright," Uzume said, taking a few steps away from him, "I might just be tired."

"Are you sure?" he said, his frown deepening.

"Yes, I'm sure," Uzume said, beginning to walk away, "Thanks for the concern, Shirou; see you tomorrow."

"Um… o-okay," she heard him say, but wasn't paying too much attention as she got away from him as quickly as possible. She than winced, as she realized that she just called him by his first name without a suffix. It was one of the many pratfalls that she had to deal with when she was first released: in Japan, people take it as a severe insult to call them by their first name without a suffix unless given permission beforehand. Shirou never gave her permission, so, if taken into account with her rude brush off, he might take it as a sign she actually doesn't want to see him again.

In all truth, she isn't sure if she does want to see him again. She's already reacting, after all, and reacting to two people will complicate the issue. Who knows what might happen if she is in the same room as both of them. She might end up trying to add another three way to his list, something he might not be able to stop…

How is she even reacting to two people in the first place? One would think only one destined one is needed, since a Sekirei can only wing one person… unless the reactions aren't a notification of who your truth love is, but rather of who is the best choice for finding true love with; and since it's a probability instead of an absolute, there is a possibility that two separate people give the same chances of happiness.

In all truth, this would make a bit more sense. After all, the Ashikabi can be winged to as many Sekirei as they can kiss, and can have more than one reacting to them, so why can't the Sekirei? Granted, only one can be chosen, but it would increase the odds of actually finding one while also giving the Sekirei a decision on who they want specifically. But does this mean that her sisters are doing this all wrong? That they are winging themselves to people that they may have compatibility with, but may not be happy with? Does this mean that most will not find love due to assuming that it is handed to them on a silver platter the moment they wing themselves to their Ashikabi? That love will never be theirs because they don't realize that love isn't found, but earned? Will most Ashikabis merely see them as tools to be used rather than actual people?

Ugh, Uzume has never been very good at philosophical musings. What she needs to do is bring this up with Miya. She should be able to help with her specific problem, and hopefully provide clarity for what this all might mean for her Sekirei sisters and handful of brothers. Speaking of brothers, she is not bringing this up to Homura, or he is going to be pissed.

* * *

Homura is fucking pissed. Not to say that he hasn't been pissed before this moment; oh, no. In fact, it's been safe to say he's been pissed for some time now. This is just the first time he's been fucking pissed.

His constantly foul mood started a couple of weeks ago, not-so-coincidentally around the time that Hayato Mikogami has been stepping up his game to acquire as many of his sisters as possible. How he knows that it is Mikogami is the fact that those that are already enthralled by him have been basically announcing to the world who they are trying to please. To say that some of his younger sisters lack tact is quite the understatement.

He of course had to go to Matsu to discover why Mikogami is trying even harder to acquire unwinged Sekirei (hell, they even took a pass at him a couple of times), and it all came back to one person: Higa Izumi. From what Matsu has been able to extrapolate, Izumi has grown concerned at the number of Sekirei that Mikogami has (the very fact that he knows this is proof that he has a brain type) and has decided to take a more aggressive stance in his own… "Acquisitions". Due to the aforementioned brain type, Izumi has been much more discreet and efficient about it, which makes it harder for him to interfere. It also seems to suggest that MBI has a way to track Sekirei down, which is a rather disturbing thought. Homura can only assume that Matsu can't access that part of MBI's system due to being unwinged, much like how she is unable to determine which Ashikabi has which specific Sekirei.

Apparently seeing Izumi's move as some sort of challenge, Mikogami, in turn, seems to have sent every single Sekirei he has in search for more Sekirei. Homura is basically in the middle of a "who can get a Bigger Stick" contest: Izumi's brain vs. Mikogami's brawn. Mikogami will probably win this "contest" due to having a head start, but not before Izumi swipes a few from under his nose, and in the end the only person who loses is Homura.

Quite simply, he is just one person. Being one of the single digits means he's a great deal stronger than most of his sisters and all but one of his brothers (Mutsu of the legendary First Disciplinary Squad), but he can't be everywhere at once. For every one of his sisters he is saving, another two are being enslaved. Worse, even with his strength, if this keeps up, Mikogami will be able to run him off, or worse capture him, through pure numbers. Due to the influx of numbers on Mikogami's side, where once he usually ran into one Sekirei, and occasionally groups of two, now they are almost exclusively in pairs with a few trios thrown in for good measure. Homura can take on two, though it strains the limits of his fighting ability, but three is a bit too much for him and often requires the assistance of the Sekirei he is trying to defend.

Which brings things back to why he is fucking pissed: he had once again run into a group of three. The problem? The sister he is trying to defend is a brain type, one of only three amongst his sisters, so even one on one her chances of fighting them off are slim. If worse comes to worse, both of them might get captured. He briefly considered retreating, but quickly dismissed the thought: he will not willingly back out of saving one of his sisters. Even if his chances of victory are slim, he will just have to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat. He is the Sekirei Guardian. He is the shepherd that guides the flock from the wolves. It was his pledge to defend the unwinged. It is his duty to follow his pledge to the utmost of his abilities. Just because he may never find love does not mean he will allow their love to be torn from them. He will not fail them.

It of course helps his decision that Mikogami with a brain type would pretty much end any chances of him saving any more unwinged. By comparison, he has only been able to sniff out one of Izumi's teams, and he has the sinking suspicion that Izumi allowed Homura to stop him so he can discover how he goes about his job. Since than, he has not seen a whiff of Izumi's Sekirei.

Right now, however, he has to concentrate on what he can stop.

Materializing a ball of fire in his hand, Homura launched it at the charging Sekirei wielding a scythe; #43 Yomi if his memory serves. He has no problems terminating this one if he is correct: Yomi is a bit of a bitch. The fireball heading her way forced her to leap to the side to avoid it, buying him enough time to see a worse threat within striking distance: #15 Himeko, wielder of an unusual double bladed sword about to rend him from left shoulder to right hip. Unlike Yomi, Himeko doesn't seem to care about taking him alive. He deflects the blow with a blast of fire from his left hand. However, with the smooth polish of someone who has had plenty of practice with such an unwieldy looking weapon, she readjusted her grip and brought the other end of her sword into a sweeping horizontal slash, intent on slitting his throat. He bent his upper body backwards, barely dodging the blow, and putting him out of position with her next strike, a downward strike, forcing him to deflect the strike with a blast of fire from his right hand. With the amount of force behind the blow, the sword sunk into the roof like a knife to butter, slowing her down for a few moments as she yanks it out, no doubt similar to the way King Arthur pulled out Excalibur.

A few moments were long enough.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Homura leaps back, simultaneously sending a lance of flame with his outstretched left hand at her face. Not being able to get out of the way, Himeko is forced to block the attack with her sword, the impact sending her tumbling back. The moment he lands, he sees Yomi coming at him, her scythe slicing towards him in an attempt to sever his legs from his body. Her idea of 'taking him alive'. He leaps, cart wheeling over the swing blade, and sending a fireball at her face at the apex of the jump. Unfortunately, Yomi was able to put the butt of her scythe in position to block the attack, albeit awkwardly. Fortunately, the force of the blast slammed the butt of her scythe into her face, sending her stumbling back in a squawk of protest. He glanced over, just in time to see his third opponent, #38 Mitsuha, wind back her whip arm, no doubt preparing to trip up his charge, #37 Chisei, with a well placed strike.

Not on his watch.

Dashing between them, Homura succeeded in intercepting the whip, catching it in his left hand. Ignoring the pain (because seriously, catching a whip hurts like hell), he yanks hard on the whip. Despite being stronger than him, Mitsuha was not expecting him to do that, and thus hadn't bothered to plant her feet; if she had, she might not have been yanked off her feet and sent flying towards him. He leapt up, and intercepted her flying form with a jump kick, enhancing the kick with a burst of fire coming off his foot. He let go of the whip as he landed, watching as the kick sent her flying to the other end of the roof, her body crashing to the ground hard enough that if she weren't a Sekirei, bones would have been broken. He spun around to face Chisei, saying, "Let's go!" She nodded, taking off again and leaping to the next roof, with him close behind.

However, Homura, having seen Himeko charging them out of the corner of his eyes, twisted midair, and sent a volley of bullet sized fireballs at her, turning his hands into a pair of flame spitting machine guns. This screeched her charge to a halt as she is forced to hold her ground, deflecting as many of the fire bullets as possible. In that regard, she mostly succeeded, as any that got through did negligible damage to her clothes. As Himeko held her ground against his onslaught, Yomi once again charged forward, and leapt high enough to completely avoid the barrage of fireballs, her scythe poised over her head.

Apparently she was stupid enough not to realize that he will be landing first, as the moment his feet touched the ground, he leaped straight up, and aimed his hands downward, the bottom of his palms touching, his fingers curled inwards.

_Kamehameha_, he thought with a smirk before a huge ball of fire was sent flying at Yomi. Realizing at the last moment her great peril, Yomi, brought her scythe to bear between her and the fireball as it smashed into her, sending her tumbling down into the abyss between the two roofs. After a few moments of falling, she was able to control her flight, and lashed her scythe out at the nearby wall, the blade sinking into the concrete. Her hands, however, took until the butt of her scythe to stop her falling form, nearly dislocating her arms from her shoulders when she finally stopped. With a stifled groan of pain, she began the slow and arduous task of climbing back up to the haft of the scythe and back onto the roof.

As he plummeted back to Earth, Himeko leapt the gap, her blade in the starting motions of slicing upwards, planning on landing a few feet in front of his own landing position and severing his left leg from his body the moment she lands. Homura tucks his legs in, to provide himself with the few crucial moments needed, stretches his hands outward, and shoots two columns of fire out, pushing him far enough backwards to dodge her strike. Dismissing the column of fire, he twists midair, landing hands first on the ground, and performs a mule kick, the kick's range enhanced with columns of fire appearing from his feet. After hearing a gasp of surprise followed by the sound of fire hitting metal, he rolled over, and quickly split his legs apart to dodge the crack of Mitsuha's whip.

He should feel lucky: a few inches higher, and the argument with the scientists over what gender he should be adjusted as would have been rendered moot.

After his left leg came together with his right to dodge the next whip strike, he rolled backwards to dodge the third strike. His foot than lashed out, stomping on the whip before he pumped heat into the whip, having said heat encompass the entire weapon, including the grip. With a yelp of pain, Mitsuha dropped the suddenly searing hot whip in pain, giving him the opening he needs to dash towards her and delivering an uppercut to her chin, sending her stumbling back. Seeing Yomi getting back on the roof and yanking her scythe out of the wall, he sends a fireball in her direction. Twirling around her scythe, Yomi spins around, and slashes her scythe upwards, sending a column of wind at his fireball. This weakened the fireball enough that when Yomi goes to block, it merely rocks her back a step instead of sending her flying.

It was more than enough to keep her busy for a few moments, however.

Taking advantage of Yomi's distraction, he spun around, sprinting towards the other side of the roof, while simultaneously gesturing to Chisei to keep running. The two leapt at around the same time due to his greater speed, landing on another roof, this one with a door that will give access to the building.

"Through the door!" Homura said, steering her towards the door, "We need to get into the building!" He dashes to the door, opening it to let her through, and slams it behind him, melting the doorknob in an attempt to slow them down, before sprinting downstairs and does the same to the next door, leading him to a plain white office hallway with at least a dozen doors leading to other rooms.

Homura glances up as they are running down the hallway and smiles when he sees the sprinkler system. _Perfect. _

"Chisei," Homura says when they stop at the other end of the hallway, "keep going. You need to get to the bottom of this building as fast as you."

"What about you?" He smiled grimly before saying, "I think I'm comfortable right here." Instantly realizing what he meant (she is a brain type, after all), she looked like she was going to protest but stopped. Presumably she saw his resolve on the matter because her next words were, "Sekirei Guardian. Don't you dare fall here; there is still too much good for you to do to fall here."

"The thought never even crossed my mind." If he were Pinocchio right now, his nose would have probably grown the entire length of the hallway right now, but she seems to have believed him. After a brief moment of hesitation, she gave him a peck on the cheek with a splash of red coloring her own cheeks.

"Good luck," she said before turning the corner and dashing off. He spun around, slowly marching down the hallway he just ran through. As he walked, fire encompassed his hands, before spreading out across his entire body, surrounding him in an aura of flame. _I art the fire, and the fire art I. _The smoke of the flames waft upwards towards the fire alarms, which begin to chirp in protest to the foul smoke. _For hearts long lost and full of fright. _Still the smoke continued growing stronger in defiance of the alarms, so the alarms pulled out the big guns: the sprinkler system. _Through my fire will their souls ignite. _In response to the sprinklers, Homura increased the heat of his fire, making the fire so hot that the water turns into steam on contact with his flames. _Let those who oppress through their might. _He fine-tuned the heat of his fire, not because it was too hot, but so he can limit his own visibility amongst the growing steam; a man on fire would be hard to miss, even with the lowered visibility. As such, his fire must be hot enough to turn the water into steam but cold enough to be extinguished. After succeeding in this, he gathered fire in his hands (which is protected by his aura of flame) - _Beware, for my flames shall shine bright!_ \- And unleashed it in two pillars of flame, unleashing steam that encompassed the entire hall and all the adjoining rooms.

"What the fuck is this?" he heard someone say (Yomi most likely) from the other side of the room, who was hissing from the heat.

"Well, it's steam of course; duh," said another voice, probably Mitsuha. He placed his back to the wall, in an attempt to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, and waited for the two telltale shadows to appear.

"Ugh! We are so not getting paid enough for this," said Yomi, stomping her feet (going by the slight tremor in the ground).

"First off, we technically don't get paid," said Mitsuha, probably counting off with her fingers, "Secondly, if we did get paid, Hay-chan would pay us so well we could buy golden fountains and stuff! Thirdly, isn't Hay-chan's happiness enough? Wouldn't you move mountains for Hay-chan?"

"…I see your point, but stiiiiiilll; do we have to? Won't Hayato-sama still be happy if we capture the other one?"

"Yes, but he will be extra extra happy if we also capture this guy! Think of how he might reward us!"

"Wait, you mean he might let us…let us…"

"Yes, he might let us into the fabled…" Mitsuha paused, presumably for dramatic effect, before saying, "Back Room."

"I've always wanted to be in the… Back Room. Do you think you'd be willing to let me borrow the whip?"

"I can be persuaded to. After all, it must be used for its proper function." In response, Yomi, quite literally, squeed.

"Yes! I'll finally be able to whip it; whip it good!"

_…Can I kick their asses yet?_

Thankfully, God seemed to be willing to cut him some slack as two shadows appeared, the one to the left being Yomi due to carrying what can only be a scythe. Homura smiled. _Let the games begin._

Homura pushed off the wall, dashing towards them, and executed a roll, ending up on one knee in front of them. He than did a low sweeping kick on Yomi, swiping the feet out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground with a squawk of surprise. Before Mitsuha could react, he elbowed her sharply in the stomach, resulting in her doubled over in pain. Letting the rest of his body fall prone to the ground, he ended up lying below Mitsuha. Under normal circumstances, he would refrain from using his fire attacks outside his aura in what amounts to a raining room. However, in his current position, her body is blocking the majority of the water. Taking advantage of this, Homura extends one hand up, and sends a fireball at Mitsuha. This sends her flying upwards and smashing into the roof. He rolled backwards, getting to his feet as she collided to the ground where he was lying only moments ago.

"Try and catch me, little birdie," Homura said, before spinning around and sprinting away.

"That is it," said Yomi, "I am so going to kick your ass!" If the stomp of her feet were any indicator, she is currently coming after him. _Perfect._

Homura opened the door of the nearest room, entering it and waited. Than, the moment Yomi came into view, he dashed out, tackling her to the wall. Grabbing hold of her scythe, he kneed her in the stomach, and yanked the scythe out of her slackening grip. He than grabbed her by the front of her dress, and threw her into the room he just came out of before spinning around to block the crack of the whip. He grabbed hold of the whip, which is much easier than having to catch, and just like before yanked Mitsuha off her feet. He than let go of the whip so he could backhand her into the same room he sent Yomi into. Mitsuha collided with Yomi's rising form, the two of them tumbling to the ground in a heap of limps.

Homura took off running in the direction Mitsuha came from, carrying the scythe in such a way that it left noticeable scrap marks in the floor. Just in case they got lost. He than quickly checked each room, finding what he was looking for in the third room. Entering, he lashed out with the scythe, the blade sinking into the wall above the door, before twisting it, as if the scythe were some sort of hour hand. Continuing with that metaphor, he was only able to twist it to about ten o'clock before the ridiculous length prevented it from going any higher. He than pulled himself up, wrapped his arms and legs around the scythe, and waited.

Homura didn't have to wait long as the two came rushing into the room in a frenzy, obviously pissed off by his hit-and-run tactics.

"Where the fuck did he go?" said Yomi from outside the doorway as Mitsuha slowly walked in. _Well, if that isn't the perfect straight line, than I'm not a fire user._

Letting go of the scythe, he dropped, landing on top of Mitsuha and sending her to the ground. Expecting the collision, he recovered first. Ripping the whip from her slackened grip, he got to her feet and tossed her to the nearby wall. He than spun around, and lashed the whip out at Yomi, tripping her up and sending her to the ground with a yelp. Spinning around again, he tossed the whip to his left hand and lashed out with it again, aiming for Mitsuha. Seeing it coming, she dodged by leaping to the side; landing right in front of the window. Smirking, he let go of the whip, having switched hands so he wouldn't accidentally tangle himself up on it, and dashed forward to meet her. Flames erupting from his fist, he punched her in the face the moment she landed, sending her flying through the glass window and plummeting to the streets below.

Not wasting any time, he spun around again, and charged forward, surprising Yomi as he tackled her, lifting her off her feet. They plowed through the cheaply made wall, entering into another room that was a mirror of the one across the hall (including the window, which makes him wonder about the architecture of this building) before she kneed him in the stomach. Seeing as she is a power type, and is, you know, more powerful than he (an elemental type) is, her knee hit much harder than any of his strikes. Specifically, it sent him flying through the hole in the wall he just made and into the room they just left.

"That is it! I am so going to rip your spine right out your ass!" Yomi said, stalking into the room. With that pleasant image in his head, they got to work.

Under normal circumstances, he would not get into a fist fight with a power type, seeing as they are faster and stronger than he is. However, in this case, those advantages are nullified by a few factors. First off, most, if not all, elemental types learn some hand to hand combat techniques for just these types of circumstances. Secondly, considering how pissed off she is, he doubts that she will be fighting strategically. Finally, she's a weapon user, which means that she has no hand to hand fighting experience herself, no doubt spending all her time getting acquainted with her weapon.

And her inexperience showed with the first punch she threw. He ducked under the punch before delivering his own to her gut, stunning her for a few moments. Taking advantage, he spun around behind her and tossed her into a nearby wall, sending her flying through the wall and into another room. Jumping through the hole, he delivered a kick to her rising form, sending her stumbling back. Rolling forward, he swept her legs out from under her with an extended leg, sending her to the ground. Rising to his feet, he raised a foot, and sent it down viciously onto her face, intent on knocking her out. She caught the foot before punching him…err… below the waist, eliciting a groan from Homura and a wince from any man who would have seen it. To add insult to injury, the same hand sneaked out and latched on to his family jewels, making him think blasphemous thoughts of how being a man sucks. Going by the sadistic smirk on her face, it's thoughts she was attempting to illicit from him. She than tossed him out the room, sending him plowing through the wall and creating a hole about an inch to the right of the hole her body created.

He rose to his feet on shaky legs, still clutching his abused family jewels. He was thus unable to react before she sent an uppercut to his chin, sending him flying back towards the nearby wall. The moment he landed, she punched him in the face, sending him colliding with the outer wall. Due to being made of sterner stuff than the inner walls, he didn't smash through, and merely slide to the ground in pain. Pain that made him realize that he had more important things to worry about than his family jewels.

…Oh, who is he kidding, nothing is more important than his family jewels. He hopes those guys are all right…

Homura maintained his limp position, keeping his eyes closed to maintain his subterfuge as Yomi, presumably, stalked towards him. His leg moved with what he can only assume is a kick from Yomi, and that's when his eyes snapped open, his leg snapping out and connected with her stomach, sending her stumbling back with a curse. He rolled forward and slightly to the left, trying to keep himself as close to her as possible, and extended his left hand across his body. A fireball erupted from his hand, barely weakened by the water due to how close they are to each other. It smashed into her, sending her flying back through the other undamaged wall and into that room. Hoping to intercept her before she can recover, he jumped through the hole in the wall. However, she was ready for him. Still lying on her back on the floor, she lashed out with both her feet, connecting with his stomach. He once again passed through the hole in the wall, this time in reverse.

The moment Homura landed, he rolled backward, expecting Yomi to try the same trick he did. His guess was correct when he saw her form land, a punch creating a crater in the ground and nearly buckling the entire floor. He lashed out with a foot to her cheek, forcing her to roll away from the blow. He rolled in the opposite direction, the two of them rising to there feet. They came at each other again, with her once again delivering a punch he easily dodged, and him once again countering, this time with an elbow to her face. Taking advantage of her disorientation, he grabbed her by the shoulders and smashed her through an inner wall before spinning around and smashing her against the outer wall. Despite the vicious battering she still has the wherewithal to head butt him in the face, causing him to involuntarily let her go to clutch his face in pain. Taking advantage, she grabbed him by the shoulders and viciously kneed him…err… below the waist.

Homura loves his brothers; he really does. But right now they are proving to be quite detrimental in a knock-down, drag-out fight.

Yomi than threw him, sending him flying through a wall, which hadn't been damaged before that point. It makes Homura wonder what people would think was responsible for this wide scale destruction: gigantic termites?

That ludicrous thought made him start laughing as he flies through the hallway and through another wall, only stopping when the collision with the ground knocks the air out of his lungs, and refocusing him to the task at hand. Getting to his feet, he makes a mental note to check in with MBI afterwards. As much as he loathes having anything to do with that company, he might very well be suffering from a concussion right now.

Yomi came charging in, a leg snapping out with a kick. Huh, she kicked; that's new. Homura easily dodged the kick with a side step, his fist lashing out at her face, which she avoided with a tilt of her head. Huh, she dodged; that's new. He was expecting that (or at least prepared for it), and did a quick jab to her face with his other hand, sending her back a step. Interlocking his hands into one fist, he swung his arms like he was swinging a baseball bat, his fists smashing into her face and sending her flying back into the other room. Huh, she was sent flying; that's new.

Chasing after Yomi into the other room, Homura saw her get to her feet and lash out with a punch. He rolled under the blow, his foot connecting with the back of her left knee, sending her to one knee in pain. He yanked down on her hair, eliciting a yelp, and placed his other hand hovering near the small of her back. He sent her flying with a blast of fire… flying right towards where he left her scythe. Getting to his feet, he dashed to the other room across the hall, seeing her smash through the wall. However, she was able to stop her momentum by grabbing the scythe, leaving her dangling on one side of the doorframe while holding on to the scythe on the other side. Widening her grip, she yanked the scythe out, and quickly snaked it through the hole, impressive considering its size, while she fell to the ground. She stalked into the room with Homura waiting patiently, the window behind him.

"Found where you hid my scythe," she said, a sadistic grin spreading on her face, "Now I'm going to cut you into little pieces!" She than charged him, her scythe sweeping horizontally at him. He dived over the blowing. Upon landing, he rolled to the right to dodge a vertical slash downwards. He got to his feet at the same time she pried the scythe out of the floor. She unleashed another horizontal slash, which he dodged by hopping back and slightly to the left, positioning her in front of the window. Before she could slash again, he leapt forward, performing a dropkick that she was forced to block with her scythe, sending her stumbling back a few steps. He rolled forward, and before she could recover, sprung to his feet and tackled her through the window, breaking the glass and sending them flying outside.

Midair, Homura grabbed hold of the scythe around the same time she let go of it with a hiss. After all, without the torrents of water from the sprinkler, what's keeping his aura of fire from doing what it was meant to do? Her eyes widen as his left hand extended towards her. He smirks. "Never considered where the steam came from?" He than blasted her with a ball of fire, sending her plummeting to the ground at a faster rate than he is. Tumbling, he lashed the scythe out at the wall, the blade sinking into the wall. He slipped down to nearly the butt of the scythe before swinging himself forward feet first through a window, landing with a crouch amongst the broken glass he smashed through. Standing up to his full height, he quickly walked over to the stairs, smiling on the way over.

It was a hard fought victory, but a victory nevertheless. Now would be a good time to call it a night, however. Even if Homura wasn't hurting…err… below the waist, he is completely exhausted. In his condition, it would be easy to lose control of his powers. Hell, he has a hard time keeping control of his abilities even when he's in prime condition. It was a minor miracle that his control held out as long as it did. While it might get a little sticky if he were to run into anyone else, he's confident he'll be able to slip away.

Still, this has been a good day. He was able to rescue another sheep from the wolves, despite the numeri…cal… wait…

One moment, he was walking down the stairs at a brisk pace. The next he was all but throwing himself down the same stairs. How could he be stupid enough to forget about the oh so important strategic information of how many people you're fighting?!

_Dammitdammitdammit DAMMIT!_

He must have forgotten about Himeko due to the heat of the fight. He was too focused on the present. His view was too narrow, and by narrowing his view, he made a critical mistake, for he is the Sekirei Guardian. He is their Shepard. He is their guide in the darkness. They are his flock to direct, his flock to lead. How could he have failed even one by letting a wolf get to her? How could he have failed one of his own by forgetting the difference between the number two and three? She needed a Shepard… and the Shepard let her stray. The Shepard failed her… and now there is a good chance one more sheep will be taken from his flock.

He reaches the first floor, all but smashing through the door into the lobby at full sprint, heading for the door to the street. If he is lucky, he might be able to catch sight of Himeko so he can give chase. Having to carry Chisei would slow her down and would also hamper her in a battle. With such a disadvantage, Homura might be able to salvage the situation from being a complete failure.

Homura smashed through another door, entering into the street, fervently searching for the fleeing form of Himeko… only to see her a few meters away, battling who he can only assume to be another Sekirei, considering the speeds the two are going at are beyond that of a mere human. Only problem is that he can't quite place the new Sekirei.

The first impression he has of him is tall, taller even than Mutsu, which is surprising to Homura since he had always thought no Sekirei was taller than him. The strangeness continues as he takes in the all white armor the Sekirei is wearing, complete with a blue cape for some reason, and a helmet that completely covers the Sekirei's head and face… which makes Homura wonder how he is able to see out of it, let alone fight. The overall look vaguely resembles that of ancient Greek armor, only sleeker and more modernized. As if to complete the ensemble, the Sekirei is wielding a lance. Quite expertly, he might add. The Sekirei has obviously had plenty of practice.

That makes Homura curious as to who this Sekirei is. He is probably male, considering his height, and considering the skill he has with that lance, that is probably his preferred weapon, so he's not Mutsu. Is he winged, perhaps? And if he is, was it the Ashikabi's decision to wear that outfit? He doubts the armor is actually armor, considering it doesn't seem to be slowing him down, but if it isn't, why bother wearing it? Also…

"Bastardbastardbastardbastard bastard Bastard BASTARD!"

What the hell did he do to piss off Himeko so much? Homura has never seen her lose her temper like this. Sure, she can be a bit of a bitch at times (though nowhere near as bad as Yomi) but she never actually shows her anger like this. Himeko has always been proud of her polite mannerisms, after all.

Well, as long as she's distracted, Homura can figure out the peculiarity a little later. With an obviously skillful assistant, Himeko shouldn't be too difficult to defeat, and Chisei is probably already a good distance away…

"White knight, white knight, you're my man! If you can't do me, no one can!"

…or she can still be here, acting like a demented cross between a cheerleader and a stripper. Does he want to know what sexual act she has planned for that poor bastard? Thank god the fight hasn't presumably been going on for very long, or else she would probably be lacking in clothing already. He should probably get her away from the fight, if only so he could convince her to put her clothes back on.

Still, Homura's starting to get a little uneasy. Why are Chisei and Himeko acting so out of character? Is this mysterious Sekirei somehow involved? Or does it perhaps have something to do with last night's conversation between Miya and Uzume that they weren't allowing him to listen to?

Troubled, Homura moved into the middle of the battle so he can carry out Chisei. Coincidentally, that was also when cautiously optimistic morphed into horny.

Really horny.

He stopped running towards Chisei, completely forgetting about getting her out of there. After all, he would rather watch the white knight's masterful use of his lance. If only he can learn to use a lance like that…

Holding his lance horizontally, the winged one blocked Himeko's downward slash with the haft of his lance. He kicks her in the stomach, sending her stumbling back. He follows that up with a downward slash of his lance, which she dodges by taking a step back, ending the three hit combo with a thrust, intent on impaling her. She sidesteps the thrust, than steps into his guard, slashing her sword horizontally in an attempt to behead him. He steps forward, simultaneously ducking under the blow, and smashed the butt of his lance into the back of her knee, sending her to one knee, followed by smashing her face with the haft, sending her to the ground. She rolls backwards, dodging the downward thrust of the lance, and bounced back to her feet. In response, he leaps at her, simultaneously thrusting his lance at her face. She dodges with a slight tilt of her head, grabbed the end of the lance next to her head, and gave a downward slice of her sword. He half spun around his lance, dodging her attack, and elbowed her sharply in the face. He half spun back to his original position, delivering a jab to her face before yanking the lance out of her hand. This elicited a hiss of pain from Himeko as the lance tip cut her hand, distracting her long enough for him to smash the butt of the lance into her face, sending her, once again, stumbling back. Twirling the lance, the winged one reset his position, holding the butt of the lance above his head while the tip dips below his knee, and waited for her to make her next move.

Homura shakes his head, attempting to ignore the distraction of masterful lance thrusting. After all, he has an orgy to plan! Abandoned building to house the orgy?

Well, there is the nearby abandoned office building with the luxurious lobby room, so check! Participants for the orgy?

He glances over to Chisei, who is still chanting and is one step up from nudity.

…He can probably make the safe assumption that she'll be on the list. He glances over to the fight. With the help of the winged one, it shouldn't be too difficult to subdue her. He supposes the winged one will probably want in on it as well, which he's fine with, as long as the winged one remembers whose top dog. There is also the two Sekirei he took out earlier. They might not still be there, but if they are, it'll be worth it to drag them into this. The more the merrier as they say! Ooh, he could also make a call to Izumo Inn to see if he can get Miya and Uzume involved. Sure, Uzume is a lesbian, but he's sure if she got a taste of a real man, she'll love it! As for Miya, he thinks it's about time she woke up her naughty side.

As Homura continues to think of how to make his orgy perfect, the fight between the winged one and Himeko began to reach its end. The winged one planted the butt of his lance to the ground, and jumped over Himeko's horizontal slash, delivering a kick to her face, sending her stumbling back. He landed, spun around to keep his momentum, and once again planted his lance into the ground, this time with the tip down. He than pole vaulted towards her, launching himself feet first into her chest, sending her flying towards a nearby building and putting a crater in the wall. Meanwhile, he performs several back flips before landing near his lance, yanking it out of the ground and twirling it so that it faces the direction of Himeko.

Himeko got to her feet with a look of confusion on her face. She glances over to Homura, and than to Chisei, who has finally taken that one step down, before shaking her head and saying, "I'm not involving myself in this insanity any longer." She than ran off. Sighing in relief, the winged one turns to look at Chisei, who gives him a sultry smile and a thrust of her chest in response.

…The winged one dares? The winged one dares to even look at what is his? The winged one is not content with the love of an Ashikabi? He's not content with having love with the bitch that he is winged to that he must take from the less fortunate? Take property that is not his? **For she is already his! **He is her shepherd, she is his sheep! And as his sheep, he may do what he wishes with her! And if the winged one wants to encroach on property that is not his, than he is a wolf, and he has only one way of dealing with wolves…

A fireball begins to appear from Homura's left hand.

And after this upstart is nothing more than a charred corpse, he might have to reinsert his control over the sheep. It shouldn't be too hard. He has heard from Mikogami's bitches how he neglects them, how he ignores them, and yet they still profess their love to him like the women they are. You can treat these women like shit and they will still come back, all because their Ashikabi is "the one". Even Miya isn't exempt from this, as she stays at the home of her dead husband because he was "the one". It is obvious what all women respect: power. It does not matter what type of power someone has over them, all you need is any kind of power and a women will be putty in your hands; and true power can only be wielded by men.

So he's going to have to show his power over her. He's going to have to drag her by her hair to the closest alley, and than… he will use his lance on her; and he has no doubt that she will love it like the slut she is! And than… and than… di-did he really just think that? What is wrong with him?

Confusion etched on his face, Homura looked down at his hand, and quickly snuffed out the flames by making a fist. Next to him, Chisei seems to be just as confused, glancing around before realizing that she is completely naked and covers her self the best she can. When she takes note of the knight showing his back to her, she says, "Ah, well, um, it seemed like a good idea at the time? I do thank you for your propriety."

"It might be best for you to put your clothes back on now," the knight said.

"Ah, yes, that would probably be best," said Chisei, putting her clothes back on as fast as possible.

"I do apologize for what happened," the knight said, walking away, "I will try to be more careful in the future."

Homura, though, heard none of this; too intent he was on staring at his hands, his mind whirring with thoughts. Is that the type of person he is? He will readily admit to feeling a bit angry at not having an Ashikabi, but is he also envious of those who do? It isn't fair to have any hatred towards them just because they found their Ashikabi's first. It isn't fair to lash out at them due to problems that are his and his alone. The real question he should be asking, though, is whether or not he cares about doing what's fair.

And what of those thoughts about women? He has always had some pity for Sekirei taken by force, but was that pity really contempt? Does he have contempt for them, and apparently for all women, because he thinks they're all powerless? Power… shepherd… sheep… a shepherd's duty is to protect the sheep. To guide the sheep; and to be able to guide and protect them, you need power, for the powerless can't do either. Is the acquisition of power the secondary goal to protecting… or is it the other way around?

The clearing of someone's throat snaps him out of his thoughts, prompting him to look up at a concerned Chisei, now with her cloths back on.

"Are you alright?" she said.

"I'll be fine," Homura said, "I just have a lot on my mind."

"That makes two of us," she said, "I still can hardly fathom stripping down naked in the middle of the street and finding it to be a reasonable thing to do." She shakes her head in confusion.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" he said.

"I was just saved by two separate Sekirei on the same exact day," she said, "I don't think anyone will be making anymore moves against me, at least for tonight." She paused, glancing in the direction that the knight walked away to, than said, "If perchance you run into the… white knight again before I do, would you be so kind as to relay my thanks to him?"

"I will," Homura said with a nod. Smiling, Chisei begin to leave, before pausing as if she had forgot something.

"I would also like to thank you as well for all that you have done to save me from those… women." She said. She than bowed, and added, "Thank you," before leaving. Homura glanced back at his hands.

Does he deserve to be thanked?

* * *

**Author's Note (...Again): I'm just going to jump into this. Yes, that last part with Homura was meant to be disturbing. The reason why I stopped here is so I can make a note of what happened and why. The Smite is not merely an Aphrodisiac: it also has their shadow aspect move to the fore.**

**The shadow aspect is a concept from Jungian Psychology. Carl Jung was a Swiss Psychiatrist and a sort of pseudo rival with Freud. The two sides has competing theories about the unconscious, and about dreams. While Freud focused a bit more on... sexual aspects, Jung had a different focus. One of his concepts was the Shadow aspect. The Shadow aspect is the unconscious part of a person's personality. It's the aspect of a person's personality that they are either ignorant of or outright repress. The shadow is usually composed of the least desirable part of their personality, and thus is usually negative aspects (though a person can have positive aspects if they have a low self-esteem). The Persona series makes a lot of use of the shadow aspect (and indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if Jungian Psychology is the foundation for all those stories). Persona 4 probably makes the most direct use of it: after all, an important aspect of that story is to confront the shadow, except it, and merge with it. (Note: this whole paragraph was actually taken word for word from a post I made to a reviewer. I didn't want to have to rewrite it)**

**What happened to Homura is his shadow side come to the fore. The same thing also happened to Karasuba, but I was either to subtle or no one cared, so I decided to take a more overt path with Homura. His shadow revolves around one thing: need for power. He himself feels powerless, as which ever person he wings himself to will have absolute control over him, to the point that his very gender will change because of it. His heroism is a need to influence others; to have power over others. After all, his actions are a very important in deciding who they wing to. It also keeps them just like him for just a little while longer: directionless and lacking an Ashikabi.**

**He also harbors a degree of jealousy towards winged Sekirei because they can find their Ashikabi so easily and because they don't have to follow the Ashikabi's every order. In theory, his winging makes him a slave while theirs gives them a partner. The difference between theory and practice is also the reason for his contempt for women: despite technically be free to decide for themselves, he sees Sekirei over and over doing everything their Ashikabi says, despite gaining very little from it. Since most Sekirei are women, his contempt for women in general stems from the fact that over and over, he sees female Sekirei giving up their freedom and power and willingly become slaves. The one male Sekirei he knows is Mutsu and Amebane, with the former having an equal partnership with Mikogami, and the latter's Ashikabi having very little control over him.**

**This leads into his final believe that only men can have true power, and that if he were a man and finds a female Ashikabi, he may be able to keep some of his freedom. Of course, as his attempted orgy shows, he getting to be so desperate that he doesn't care who he is winged to, as long as he actually finds someone.**

**If anyone is interested, I will also PM Karasuba's shadow side, but only if you ask. I will also note that both of these characterizations will be present in the retooled version.**

**With all that out of the way, let's get into the rest of the chapter. First off, Uzume: when I originally started this chapter, I originally didn't plan on her being so childish, but I thought that characterization actually kinda fit, so I kept it in. Also, I'm just going to say right now that she's going to wing herself to Chiho. Please don't misinterpret that: she will be an ally,just not winged to him.**

**Secondly, Shirou: damn, he's even more OOC than last chapter. It's getting to the point where he might as well be an OC with a similar skillset as Shirou. When it comes down to it, though, I had written him OOC because, in all truth, I find the original Shirou to be kind of dull. And now I'll be in my bunker for when the rioting starts in response to that statement.**

**Now that I'm safely in my bunker, I can type in the rest, and since I'm on the topic of OC, I would like to talk about Chisei for a moment. Chisei is a weird blend of canon and OC at the same time. Her physical appearance and number are canon (type in "Sekirei no 37 wiki" if you want proof), but her personality, name, and the fact that she is a brain type is not. She's here solely because I wanted Shirou to have a brain type, but not have said brain type be Matsu. Much like Uzume, though, Chisei will be allied to him but not winged to him. I wanted to keep the number of Sekirei he himself wings to a minimum (4 tops).**

**Now lets get into Homura's fight scene, and just so I can get this out of the way: _Homura used Fire Punch...Super Effective!...Mitsuha fainted. _Anyway, you must prepare for more In Flight dissing.**

**Warning, the following involves lots and lots of In Flight Bitching. Skip if you do not wish to read it. You have been warned.**

**Another issue I have with In Flight is the fact that I got the impression that Shirou's Sekirei were pushed to the side just so Gabriel Blessing can show how awesome Shirou is. The only character that this doesn't apply is Karasuba, but only because he needed a villain who could credible be a threat to the awesomeness that is Shirou. Hell, even Minaka went down way to easily. I realize that he is a Non-action Big Bad, but shouldn't he have had the entire building booby trapped instead of just his room.**

**This intense focus on how badass Shirou is also, unfortunately, has a deleterious effect on on all the Sekirei he wings (and Miya), having them stay out of focus. This damages their characterization, ending with most of them being nothing more than caricatures. . The ones that are hit the worst with this are Kusano (Moe), Tsukiumi (Tsundere) and Kazehana (err... wants badly to have sex with Shirou). These three characters are especially one dimension (except for Kazehana,who would need to have a dimension to be one dimensional), and add very little to the story. **

**This disparity of focus is the most noticeable with the fight scenes, where his Sekirei have a grand total of two fights... and the focus for both is almost completely on him. I'll let it go for the second one (which is in the second to last chapter) due to the fact that he is kind of in a death match with Karasuba and thus to busy to pay too much attention to the other fights, but the first one is especially egregious. For the first half of the fight, he is literally doing NOTHING! He's having a staredown with Kakizaki, that's it. It's made worse by the fact that what little of the fight you see is shown through the lens of along the lines of "Well, they're not bad, but they're nowhere near the level of a Servant, so I should be able to kick their asses.**

**I would not be complaining about this so much if Shirou's fights weren't shown in almost blow by blow detail. Now, I have nothing against this style of writing fights (it's how I do it) but it is only done for HIS fights, as if to say only his fights are awesome enough to actually show. To make a long story short, I showed Homura doing Sekirei Guardian things because Shirou isn't the only person who can be awesome, dammit!**

**And since we're still on the topic of complaining about In Flight, I would also like to voice another issue: fanservice. Specifically, his adherence to fanservice. In my mind, this doesn't work for two reasons: 1: fanservice is really hard to do in a written medium. There is a big difference in showing someone that is beautiful and describing someone that is beautiful. Something is lost in translation, and thus all the attempts at fanservice are not tantalizing, they're just, well, annoying; 2: It adds nothing to the story. This can be thrown towards anything that use excessive fanservice, really. I do not care about reading about beautiful women doing suggestive things. I'll go watch pornography for that. So to do I not care about sex scenes unless there is a point to them. most types of fanservice, in the end, is pointless filler.  
**

**Since we're on the subject of fanservice, I must also note that I do not find the proportions of the Sekirei to be "enticing".When I see there breasts, I don't think, "Damn those are big!", I think, "Oh, come on, those are so fake!" They just look wrong, especially Musubi's breasts. I think that there is a breast size threshold: depending on the women, after a certain point, a women's breasts look to large to be real, and I'm one of these people who loses all appreciation for someone's breasts if I think they're fake (more of a legs person, anyways). Actually, comparing Fate/Stay night really shows a large difference, showing the focus of the two series. Sakura is nicely proportioned; Rider is nicely proportioned. Hell, I'd even argue that Karasuba is nicely proportioned.**

**Just a side bar here, but am I the only one who noticed all the good girls are big bosomed and all the bad girls are small by comparison? Apparently, according to Sekirei, any women below a c cup is evil. Remember folks, if you're dating someone with an A cup, force them to get a boob job; they'll become good girls if you do!**

**What all this talk is leading up to is the fact that I will put very little focus on fanservice, and any mention of the size of their breasts will be kept to a minimum (which I guess makes me a hypocrite because I've done both in these two chapters).**

**The Rant has ended. Go in Peace.**

**I bet this is a first: someone going out of their way to rant about boobs. Anyway, I mentioned in the first chapter AN that I plan on writing only one story at a time. Yeah,I'm going to have to forego that thought, for reasons that I explained, again, in my profile. I'll summarize it here in three sentences: So many cool ideas! Must write down! Must post them! As such, I suggest not holding your breath for the two retooled chapters. **

**If you do, than I suppose I'll help pay for your funeral.**

**Considering the unique circumstances, I'm not sure if you should go out of your way to review this chapter. If nothing else, it would be nice to hear what everyone thinks, though. Also, if anyone wants to learn about the retooled chapters, I can share a few details. They're not finished (they would be posted if they were) but I have a general idea of what the two chapters will be about.**

**Shit, these two AN's are nearly four thousand words long! I really am a wordy bastard! Well, anyways, hope this was worth the wait! **


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